Lebanon

Lebanese Republic

Flag

Coat of arms

Anthem:

Kulluna lil-watan

All Of Us, For the Homeland!

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Beirut

Capital

3354N 3532E33.900N

and largest city

35.533E

Official languages

Arabic
Lebanese

Demonym

Unitary parliamentary
Government

multi-confessionalist
republic[1]

- Acting President

Tammam Salam

- Prime Minister

Tammam Salam

- Speaker of the parliament

Nabih Berri
Chamber of Deputies

Legislature

Establishment
- Greater Lebanon

1 September 1920

- Constitution

23 May 1926

- Independence declared

8 November 1943

Independence recognized by
France

22 November 1943

- Withdrawal of French forces 31 December 1946

Area
10,452 km2 (166th)

- Total

4,036 sq mi

- Water (%)

1.8
Population

- 2014 estimate

4,965,914 (119th)
473/km2 (27th)

- Density

1,500/sq mi

GDP (PPP)

2013 estimate

- Total

$67.669 billion[2] (88th)

- Per capita

$16,660[2] (69th)

GDP (nominal)

2013 estimate

- Total

$44.967 billion[2] (86th)

- Per capita

$11,070[2] (61st)

HDI (2013)

0.765[3]
high 65th

Currency

Lebanese pound (LBP)

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

- Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Drives on the

right[4]

Calling code

+961[5]

ISO 3166 code

LB

Internet TLD

.lb

Article 11 of the Constitution of Lebanon states: "Arabic is the

a.

official national language. A law determines the cases in which the

French language is to be used."

Lebanon ( i/lbnn/ or /lbnn/; Arabic: Libnn or Lubnn; Lebanese Arabic:

[lbnen]; Aramaic: ;French: Liban), officially the Lebanese Republic[nb 1] (Arabic:
Al-Jumhryah Al-Loubnnyah; Lebanese Arabic: [elmhujje
l.lbnenjje]; French: Rpublique libanaise), is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered
by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads
of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history and
shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.[6]
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand
years, predating recorded history.[7] Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime
culture that flourished for over a thousand years (c. 1550539 BC). In 64 BC, the region
came under the rule of the Roman Empire, and eventually became one of the Empire's
leading centers of Christianity. In the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known
as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the
Maronites held onto their religion and identity. However, a new religious group, the
Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, a religious divide that would
last for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the
Roman Catholic Church and asserted their communion with Rome. The ties they
established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era.
The region eventually came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918.
Following the collapse of the Empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute
modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount
Lebanon Governorate, which was mostly populated by Maronites and Druze, to include
more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing a unique political
system "confessionalism" that is, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious
communities. Bechara El Khoury (independent Lebanon's first president), Riad El-Solh
(Lebanon's first prime minister) and Emir Majid Arslan (Lebanon's first minister of
defence) are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national
heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon
in 1946.[8]
Before the Lebanese Civil War (19751990), the country experienced a period of relative
calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce, and banking.[9]
Because of its financial power and diversity in its heyday, Lebanon was compared to
Switzerland,[10] and its capital Beirut attracted so many tourists that it was known as "the
Paris of the Middle East".[11] At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive
the economy and rebuild national infrastructure.