Middle East

Middle East

Lebanon

Contributed by Steve Reed on 20 Apr 2012
Geography
World Region: 
Middle East
Country: 
Lebanon
[title]
National Symbol: 
[title]
Geographic Area: 
4,015 sq. mi.
Time Zone: 
UTC + 2 hours
Climate: 
Mediterranean, mild to cool in winter, hot and dry in summer
Population: 
3,908,000 (2010 est.)
Major Cities: 
  • Beirut
  • Tripoli
  • Zahle
Guidebooks: 
Lonely Planet Syria and Lebanon
Bradt Guide to Lebanon
Footprint Lebanon Handbook
U.S. Government Fact Sheets: 
U.S. State Department Background Notes Lebanon
U.S. Government Fact Sheets: 
CIA World Factbook Lebanon
US Consulate/Embassy Contact Info: 
U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon Address: Awkar facing the Municipality P.O. Box 70-840 Antelias Ambassador: Maura Connelly Deputy Chief of Mission: Richard M. Mills
US Consulate/Embassy Website: 
U.S. Embassy Beirut
British Consulate/Embassy Website: 
British Embassy Beirut
Canadian Consulate/Embassy Website: 
Embassy of Canada to Lebanon
Daily Life
Official Language: 
Arabic
Primary Language, other: 
French
Secondary Languages: 
  • English
  • Armenian
Currency: 
Lebanese Pound (LBP)
National Dish: 
  • Kibbeh, a meat pie with bulghur wheat, and Tabbouli, a salad of bulghur, tomato and parsley or mint
National Beverage: 
  • Arak, anise liquor
Legal Drinking Age: 
18
Legal Driving Age: 
16
Tipping Customs: 
Tip 10 percent in restaurants.
Travel
Vaccines Recommended: 
  • diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPaT)
  • hepatitis A
  • hepatitis B
  • measles/mumps/rubella (MMR)
  • polio
  • rabies
  • typhoid
Health Concerns, other: 
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is reported in countries bordering the Mediterranean; visceral leishmaniasis is more rare in the Middle East.
Rabies vaccines are recommended for those visiting remote areas or working with animals.
Visa Required: 
  • Americans
Visa Information: 
Passports and visas are required. U.S. citizens coming to Lebanon for tourism can purchase a short-term visa at the border or airport. Travelers whose passports contain stamps or visas from Israel may be detained and/or imprisoned. More information is available from the Embassy of Lebanon to the United States: http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/consular_affairs/visas.html
Passport Office: 
In-country, contact the U.S. Embassy at the address above.
Communications
Mobile Networks: 
  • GSM
Phone Country Code: 
961
Political History
Capital City: 
Beirut
Ruling Party: 
President Michel Sulayman is an Independent
Minority Parties: 
  • Democratic Left
  • Democratic Renewal Movement
  • Future Movement Bloc
  • Kataeb Party
  • Lebanese Forces
  • Tripoli Independent Bloc
  • Development and Resistance Bloc
  • Free Patriotic Movement
  • Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc
  • Nasserite Popular Movement
  • Popular Bloc
  • Syrian Ba'th Party
  • Syrian Social Nationalist Party
  • Tashnaq
  • Democratic Gathering Bloc
  • Metn Bloc
Primary Imports: 
  • Petroleum products
  • Cars
  • Medicinal products
  • Clothing
  • Meat and live animals
  • Consumer goods
  • Paper
  • Textile and fabrics
  • Tobacco
  • Electrical machinery and equipment
  • Chemicals
Primary Exports: 
  • Jewelry
  • Base metals
  • Chemicals
  • Miscellaneous consumer goods
  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Tobacco
  • Construction minerals
  • Electric power machinery and switchgear
  • Textile fibers
  • Paper
Religious/Tribal Clans: 
  • Arab (95 percent)
  • Armenian (4 percent)
Religious/Tribal Clans Demographics: 
Muslim 59.7% (Shia, 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, Coptic, Protestant), other 1.3%. NOTE: According to the CIA World Factbook, "many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians."

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