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Basic Facts |
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 |
Gevernment type | republic |
Capital |
name: Beirut
geographic coordinates: 33 53 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 |
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 |
Currency | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
Internet country code | .lb |
Ports and terminals | Beirut, Chekka, Jounie, Tripoli |
Agriculture products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Industries | banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating |
Geography |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Continent | Middle East |
Area |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Boundaries |
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Coastline | 225 km |
Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms |
People |
Population | 3,874,050 (July 2006 est.) |
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 |
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 |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |