Lebanon (2007) | Yugoslavia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye | 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.2% (male 525,199/female 504,240)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,255,624/female 1,361,265) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 125,904/female 153,270) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
19.8% (male 1,095,905; female 1,024,123) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 3,415,728; female 3,553,343) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 681,559; female 906,632) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 7 (2007) | 47 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
19 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
total:
102,350 sq km land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"). Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. UNSCR 1701, which passed in August 2006, called for the disarmament of Hizballah. | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various partisan bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although communist in name, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by Serbs of ethnic Albanians living in the autonomous republic of Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Blatant attempts to manipulate presidential balloting in October of 2000 were followed by massive nationwide demonstrations and strikes that saw the election winner, Vojislav KOSTUNICA, replace MILOSEVIC. |
Birth rate | 18.08 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.448 billion
expenditures: $7.878 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | name: Beirut
geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Belgrade |
Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland |
Coastline | 225 km | 199 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 | 27 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan former: Greater Lebanon |
conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia conventional short form: Yugoslavia local long form: Savezna Republika Jugoslavija local short form: Jugoslavija |
Currency | - | new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the German deutsche mark is legal tender (1999) |
Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $32.11 billion (2006 est.) | $14.1 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality) mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William MONTGOMERY embassy: Kneza Milosa 30, 11000 Belgrade note: the US reestablished relations with Yugoslavia 17 November 2000; the embassy is not scheduled to open for business until extensive renovations have been completed |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Milan PROTIC chancery: 2410 California St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 note: Yugoslavia restored its diplomatic mission in the US in November 2000 after temporarily ceasing its operations at the beginning of the March 1999 NATO bombing campaign |
Disputes - international | lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 | Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Yugoslavia; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP); the February 2001 agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years |
Economic aid - recipient | $243 million received (2003) from the $4.2 billion in soft loans pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2005) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises, but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage in July and August 2006, and internal Lebanese political tension continues to hamper economic activity. | The swift collapse of the Yugoslav federation in 1991 was followed by highly destructive warfare, the destabilization of republic boundaries, and the breakup of important interrepublic trade flows. Output in Yugoslavia dropped by half in 1992-93. Like the other former Yugoslav republics, it had depended on its sister republics for large amounts of energy and manufactures. Wide differences in climate, mineral resources, and levels of technology among the republics accentuated this interdependence, as did the communist practice of concentrating much industrial output in a small number of giant plants. The breakup of many of the trade links, the sharp drop in output as industrial plants lost suppliers and markets, and the destruction of physical assets in the fighting all have contributed to the economic difficulties of the republics. Hyperinflation ended with the establishment of a new currency unit in June 1993; prices were relatively stable from 1995 through 1997, but inflationary pressures resurged in 1998. Reliable statistics continue to be hard to come by, and the GDP estimate is extremely rough. The economic boom anticipated by the government after the suspension of UN sanctions in December 1995 has failed to materialize. Government mismanagement of the economy is largely to blame, but the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry by the NATO bombing during the war in Kosovo have added to problems. All sanctions now have been lifted. Yugoslavia is in the first stage of economic reform. Severe electricity shortages are chronic, the result of lack of investment by former regimes, depleted hydropower reservoirs due to extended drought, and lack of funds. GDP growth in 2000 was perhaps 15%, which made up for a large part of the 20% decline of 1999. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.439 billion kWh (2005) | 33.006 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 960 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 455 million kWh (2005) | 1.923 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 9.571 billion kWh (2005) | 34.455 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
70% hydro: 30% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
Ethnic groups | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians |
Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002) | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 10.0 (December 1998), 5.85 (December 1997), 5.02 (September 1996), 1.5 (early 1995); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998), 8.9 (December 1997), 2 to 3 (early 1995) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held in December 2007 based on three-year extension); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the National Assembly is a Shi'a Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
chief of state:
President Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 7 October 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001) cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president elected by direct popular vote for up to two, four-year terms; election last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vojislav KOSTUNICA elected president; percent of vote - Vojislav KOSTUNICA 55%, Slobodan MILOSEVIC 35% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.5 billion (1999) |
Exports - commodities | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials |
Exports - partners | Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (2006) | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $24.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 18.4% services: 76.5% (2005) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 50% services: 30% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -2.8% (2006 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
48,603 km paved: 28,822 km (including 560 km of expressways) unpaved: 19,781 km (1998 est.) note: because of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, many road bridges were destroyed; since the end of the conflict in June 1999, there has been an intensive program to either rebuild bridges or build by-pass routes |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $3.3 billion (1999) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials |
Imports - partners | Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US 9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006) | Germany, Italy, Russia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1998) |
Independence | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -22% (1999 est.) |
Industries | banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating | machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
17.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2006 est.) | 42% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | BIS, CE (guest), FAO (applicant), G- 9, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,040 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) | Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms |
Labor force | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.) |
1.6 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
total:
2,246 km border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.35%
permanent crops: 13.75% other: 69.9% (2005) |
arable land:
40% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20.7% forests and woodland: 17.3% other: 22% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
Legal system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tachnaq Party 2; Ba'th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4 |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Savezna Skupstina consists of the Chamber of Republics or Vece Republika (40 seats - 20 Serbian, 20 Montenegrin; members distributed on the basis of party representation in the republican assemblies to serve four-year terms; note - the Assembly passed a new constitutional amendment calling for direct elections for the deputies to the upper chamber) and the Chamber of Citizens or Vece Gradjana (138 seats - 108 Serbian with half elected by constituency majorities and half by proportional representation, 30 Montenegrin with six elected by constituency and 24 proportionally; members serve four-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Republics - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Citizens - last held 24 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Chamber of Republics - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SNP 19, DOS 10, SPS/JUL 7, SRS 2, SPO 1, SNS 1; note - seats are filled on a proportional basis to reflect the composition of the legislatures of the republics of Montenegro and Serbia; since 1998 Serbia has effectively barred Montenegro from its constitutional right to delegate deputies to the Chamber of Republics; Chamber of Citizens - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 55, SPS/JUL 46, SNP 28, SRS 4, SNS 2, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.15 years
male: 70.67 years female: 75.77 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
73.5 years male: 70.57 years female: 76.67 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | NA |
Merchant marine | total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 132,871 GRT/140,011 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 14, livestock carrier 12, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Greece 2, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 55 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 7, Comoros 5, Cyprus 1, Dominica 1, Egypt 1, Georgia 3, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 3, Liberia 2, Malta 12, Mongolia 1, Panama 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Syria 4, unknown 2) (2007) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,437 GRT/400 DWT ships by type: short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force (2007) | Army (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $760 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,600,362 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,088,595 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
82,542 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) | Republic Day, 29 November |
Nationality | noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
noun:
Serb(s); Montenegrin(s) adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -4.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 43 km (2006) | crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural gas 2,110 km |
Political parties and leaders | 14 March Coalition: Democratic Gathering [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Reform Movement [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Qornet Shewan Gathering (a grouping composed of political parties and independent members of the National Assembly [no individual leader]); Tripoli Independent Bloc
Change and Reform Alliance: Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Tachnaq Hizballah and Amal Alliance: Ba'th Party [Muhammad MUHAMMADIYAH]; Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Kataeb Party [Karim PAKRADONI]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Dr. Issam al-MAYHAYRI, secretary general] |
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Civic Alliance of Serbia or GSS [Vesna PESIC]; Coalition Sandzak [Rasim JAJIC]; Coalition Sumadija [Branislav KOVACEVIC]; Democratic Alternative of DA [Nebojsa COVIC]; Democratic Center or DC [Dragoljub MICUNOVIC]; Democratic Christian Party of Serbia of DHSS [Vladan BATIC]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS [leader NA]; Democratic Party or DS [Zoran DJINDJIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Movement for a Democratic Serbia or PDS [Momcilo PERISIC]; New Democracy or ND [Dusan MIHAJLOVIC]; New Serbia [Velimir ILIC and Milan St. PROTIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Serb People's Party or SNS [leader NA]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC, president]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party) [Slobodan MILOSEVIC]; Social Democracy or SD [Vuk OBRADOVIC]; Social Democratic Union or SDU [Zarko KORAC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Momir BULATOVIC]; Yugoslav United Left or JUL [Ljubisa RISTIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [leader RAMUSH]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [leader NA] |
Population | 3,925,502 (July 2007 est.) | 10,677,290
note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.198% (2007 est.) | -0.27% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006) |
total:
4,095 km standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km partially electrified since 1992) note: during to the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction; many rail bridges have been rebuilt, but the bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad was still down in early 2000; however, a by-pass is available; Montenegrin rail lines remain intact |
Religions | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: 17 religious sects recognized |
Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.821 male(s)/female total population: 0.944 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
domestic: 2 wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership approaching 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 961; submarine cable link to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 681,400 (2006) | 2.017 million (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.103 million (2006) | 87,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) | more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2006 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 587 km
note: The Danube River, which connects Europe with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction can be bypassed by a canal system but inadequate lock size limits the size of vessels which may pass (2001) |