History

For such a small capital in such a small country Beirut has had a rich history built by many civilisations. The Phoenicians, Amorites, Egyptians, Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Turks have all been here and left their mark in ancient ruins and artifacts, language and history. Crucially the city has been a cultural crossroads linking East and West, and ever since the beginning of Islam it is a town where the Muslim call to prayer in mosques intermingles with the ringing of church bells. And though Beirut has been repeatedly damaged by earthquakes, floods, fire and war over the years like the phoenix, it has always risen from its ashes – perhaps marked most recently in 2005 by the massive independence demonstrations in the capital’s symbolic Martyr’s Square. Today it is a modern city unique in the Arab world.

Politics

Lebanese politics are a minefield not just for a foreigner to understand but to most locals too. In the most simplistic form Lebanon is a confessional democracy in name with the government split between religious factions and the three main leadership positions – the President (always a Maronite), the Prime Minister (a Sunni) and the Speaker of Parliament (a Shia). Recent events have seen the political scene shaken up with the killing of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and the final withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence agents who have for many years pulled the political strings from the sidelines. The current President Emile Lahoud is widely considered a Syrian puppet and the last few years saw bitter disputes and failed policy decisions as Hariri and Lahoud locked horns. Depending on the outcome of the May/June elections the future of Lebanese government remains in the balance with continuing feuds over the fairness of electoral laws to different sects and nature of the political balance. The interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati has pledged to see the elections run as planned and is under pressure from the U.S. and United Nations to make sure they go succeed. After that whether the numerous sects can form a unified government and the last five years of political paralysis consigned to the dustbin of history will remain to be seen.

Religion

There is no official religion in Lebanon as it is a country with 17 officially recognised sects, thus it is about as religiously and ethnically diverse as you can get. Nonetheless the country has a Muslim majority but one that is split between Shia, Sunni and Druze. The Shia are the biggest Muslim sect and are concentrated in the South, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Sunnis are primarily in Saida, Tripoli and Beirut and the Druze mainly in the Chouf mountains. The Maronites are the largest Christian sect and are Uniate Catholics based in Mount Lebanon and East Beirut. Then comes the Greek Orthodox and various other Christian communities including the Greek Catholic, Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholic sects.

Economy

Lebanon’s economy can be seen in two lights – a dynamic growth market or one weighed down by a mammoth public debt. The first has the economy expanding at a rate of 3.5% with a primary budget surplus, minimal inflation, growing government revenues and a stable exchange rate. The second has it as an economy still recovering from 15 years of civil war with one of the highest government debt to GDP ratios in the world ($34 billion), spending more than it brings in, boasting no real industry and maintaining a increasing all the time trade deficit. Still Lebanon is a financial centre in the region with a strong private banking system open to foreign investment and large bank deposits. Overall the economy is critical but stable though for the majority of the population prices are high and wages low and the prime money making industries of tourism, real estate and construction benefit the few rather than the many. The fact that corruption is rife in at a high-level in state institutions and is rampant on a petty level doesn’t bode well for the future. The tourism industry, seen by many as the primary solution to boost the economy, was hit hard by Hariri’s assassination and its future success, unknown as it is, may not be enough.

Population

Due to the political sensitivity of Lebanon’s delicate confessional balance census taking is controversial and just doesn’t happen - the only one ever taken was in 1932 – so getting detailed statistics on the population is virtually impossible. Still the current estimate figures for the country are 3.8 million people excluding around 250,000 Palestinian refugees and numerous guest workers from Syria, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan. Population growth is currently estimated at around 1.2 % and around 26.9% of the population are under the age of 15.