South Lebanon, the Beirut suburbs as well as the north-eastern provinces of Akkar and Baalbek, where many Shiites live, are among the poorest. It also provides social support for the downtrodden and for all these reasons constitutes a political power to be reckoned with. Most communities were united in their protest against this political crime, and, with the exception of most of the Shiites, against the Syrian occupation, which came to an end the following year. In the Islamic world Shiites often live in closed communities in rural and mountainous regions, and to a lesser extent in large urban conglomerations. The school dropout rate is high. All but one of the camps are located in the coastal area, around Beirut (Bourj al-Shemali, one of the largest camps; Shatila, which was bombed in 1982; Dbayeh and the very small Mar Elias), Saida or Sidon (with Ayn al-Hilweh, the largest of all, and Mieh Mieh) and Tyre (Sur) in the south (al-Buss, Rashidieh). At times internal strife seemed omnipresent, as enemies and allies kept changing. According to UNRWA, the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency, the camps suffer from a high level of poverty, overcrowding, unemployment, poor housing conditions and lack of infrastructure. The results also showed that there are demographic changes in some camps, where non-Palestinians outnumber Palestinians. Among the population aged 15 and older it is 88.3 percent (in 2007), although higher among men (93 percent) than among women and girls (82 percent), according to UNESCO. There is a huge disparity in the distribution of poverty with a heavy concentration in certain regions.

Hariri’s death caused an outcry, and not just amongst the Lebanese Sunnis.

Unemployment is extremely high.

The Civil War (1975-1990) can be considered partly as an exacerbation of the partitioning along religious lines. This violence resulted in a large number of casualties – including the massacres at Sabra and Shatila in 1982 – and also in the (partial) destruction of the camps and the displacement of thousands of people. This is also changing, among other factors due to the rise of Hezbollah, who first appeared in the mid-1980s and grew rapidly in popularity and in political as well as military strength – which was visible in the streets of Beirut as recently as 2008. It was the only Lebanese militia not to disarm after the Civil War (Palestinians did not disarm either). The Druze, persecuted by the Sunni Mamluks of Egypt, took refuge in the mountains of what is now Syria and Lebanon, where they established themselves mostly in and around the Chouf Mountains, east and south of Beirut. According to the UNHCR, there are 1.5 million Syrian refugees (24 per cent of the population of Lebanon). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), one in four were still living below the poverty line in 2004-2005, and 8 percent of the Lebanese population were living in extreme poverty. They live in the same areas as the Maronites.

The number of Palestinian refugees was 124,422 in 2017, according to the general census of population and housing in camps and Palestinian communities, which was conducted by the Lebanese Central Administration of Statistics and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

See National Survey of Households Living Conditions 2004-2005).

(See UNRWA). Violence The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. One was the creation, in 1968, of the Higher Shia Islamic Council by Iranian-born Imam Musa al-Sadr (he disappeared in 1978 during a stay in Libya). Alawites are followers of the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law Ali and, as such, belong to the Shia branch of Islam. It also meant that Lebanon received financial help to reduce the poverty, while some Lebanese made a fortune thanks to the reconstruction programme and low income taxes. Today, both Muslims and Christians – the latter being the oldest religious community in Lebanon – sometimes describe themselves as Arabs, referring to shared roots with the other Arab communities in the Middle East. Alawites (whether Lebanese or Syrian) are (relatively) populous in the north of Lebanon, close to the Syrian border. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. According to Hezbollah and its supporters, this is the only way to prevent Israel from invading the country again.

Many Christians do not consider themselves Arabs but descendants of the ancient Canaanites. This page provides - Lebanon Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Instead, their leader must come from a line of imams descending from Muhammad. There, unemployment is extremely high, and children frequently drop out of school for a variety of reasons.

The UNDP specifies: while 20.7 percent of Lebanon’s population live in North Lebanon, it is the home of 38 percent of the poor and 46 percent of the extremely poor; this in comparison to Beirut, where only 1 percent of the extremely poor and 2.1 percent of the poor population live.

Not all Lebanese share this view, however.

During the past decades, however, the religious or communitarian landscape has been profoundly modified by demographic changes.

Lebanon does not have a state religion.

Moreover, within the population, there are huge differences in income and living standards. In the early 1990s, on the whole, peace returned to the country.

According to UNRWA, this is because students are often forced to leave school in order to support their families.

These figures were also adopted by the US State Department’s 2011 International Religious Freedom Report. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. This was the case in the northern camp of Nahr al-Bared, where, in the spring of 2007, heavily armed Salafist Fatah al-Islam gunmen took control of the camp, before being defeated by the Lebanese military. There is a huge disparity in the distribution of poverty with a heavy concentration in certain regions. And more often than not, local outbreaks of violence were exacerbated or even caused by international tensions and the clashing interests of more powerful nations. Download historical data for 20 million indicators using your browser. However, the last official census was held in 1932, and the figures concerning religion distribution in Lebanon are estimates. The second largest camp is Rashidieh (27,521 inhabitants), between Tyre and the border with Israel. In that respect, the Palestinian refugees living in camps are among the poorest of the poor. ( 2 ) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, ( 3 ) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, ( 4 ) United Nations Statistical Division. In … Lebanon is considered a very youthful country.

( 1 ) United Nations Population Division. Lebanon used to be called ‘the Switzerland of the Middle East’, because of the importance of its banking system and the relative wealth of its inhabitants. Illiteracy is also higher in regions outside Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and occurs more frequently among females. The mortality rate among adults is five per 1,000 persons. Communal tensions – which, particularly in Lebanon, are also determined by conflicts and balances of power in the region, and in the world – are still high. In this respect, Lebanon takes pride in being one of the founding fathers of the League of Arab States. Close to Rashidieh is Bourj al-Shemali (19,771 inhabitants). Those who did not hide in the mountains, were killed. The Maronites used to belong to the ruling class – first sharing power with the Druze, later with the Sunnis.

People find casual work in orchards, on construction sites, as cleaners and (women) in embroidery workshops. Yet a dialogue between the groups is on-going. The results of the census showed that about 45 per cent of the refugees reside in the camps, compared with 55 per cent in Palestinian communities and adjacent areas. In part, they also descend from Arabs – either the nomads (Arabiyun/badu) who travelled through the region since early times or the Muslims who, coming from the Arab Peninsula, conquered the region in the 7th century (see the Arab conquest).