Demographics of Lebanon

This is a demography of the population of Lebanon including population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Lebanon
Lebanon population pyramid in 2020
Population5,469,612 (July 2020 est.),[1] including 910,256 Syrians, 170,000 Palestinians, and 5,700 Iraqis (110th)
Growth rate-6.68% (2020 est.)
Birth rate13.6 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Death rate5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Life expectancy78.3 years (2020 est.)
  male77.8 years (2020 est.)
  female79.8 years (2020 est.)
Fertility rate1.72 children born/woman (SRS 2015)
Infant mortality rate0.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years23.32% (male 728,025/female 694,453) (2018 est.)
15–64 years69.65% (male 2,139,885/female 2,108,917) (2018 est.)
65 and over7.03% (male 185,780/female 243,015) (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
At birth1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Under 151.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15–64 years1.03 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
65 and over0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Nationality
Nationalitynoun: Lebanese people, adjective: Lebanese
Language
OfficialArabic[2]
SpokenLebanese Arabic, English, French[2]
Minority languages include Armenian and Aramaic
Demographics of Lebanon
Indicator Rank Measure
Economy
GDP (PPP) per capita 66th $19,500
Unemployment rate ↓ 21st 20.89%*
CO2 emissions 78th 3.05t
Electricity consumption 77th 49.72GWh
Economic Freedom 95th 2.98
Politics
Human Development Index 80th 0.757
Political freedom Partly 4
Corruption (A higher score means less (perceived) corruption.) ↓ 134th 2.5
Press freedom 45th 74.00
Society
Literacy Rate 43rd 96.7%
Number of Internet users 59th 4,545,007 users
E-readiness 14th 7.16±
Ease of Doing Business 24th Unknown
Health
Life Expectancy 59th 77.0
Birth rate 113th 15.6
Fertility rate 157th 1.77††
Infant mortality 127th 14.39‡‡
Death rate 157th 7.5
HIV/AIDS rate 127th 0.10%
Notes
* including several non-sovereign entities
↓ indicates rank is in reverse order (e.g. 1st is lowest)
per capita
± score out of 10
per 1000 people
†† per woman
‡‡ per 1000 live births

About 95% of the population of Lebanon is either Muslim or Christian, split across various sects and denominations. Because the matter of religious balance is a sensitive political issue, a national census has not been conducted since 1932, before the founding of the modern Lebanese state. Consequently, there is an absence of accurate data on the relative percentages of the population of the major religions and groups.[3]

The absence of data and comprehensive statistics also concerns all other demographic studies unrelated to religious balance, due to the all but total inactivity of the concerned public agencies. The only recent (post-war) statistics available are estimates based on studies made by private organizations.

The biggest study made after the independence on the Lebanese Population was made by the Central Administration of Statistics (in French: "Administration Centrale de la Statistique") under the direction of Robert Kasparian and Grégoire Haddad's Social Movement: "L'enquête par sondage sur la population active au Liban en 1970" (in English: "The survey on the active population in Lebanon in 1970"). It was conducted on a sample of 130,000 individuals.[4]

There are over 4 million[5][6][7] Lebanese and descendants of Lebanese worldwide, mostly Christians, compared with the internal population of Lebanon of around 4.6 million citizens, in 2020.[8]

Ethnic groups

Ethnic background is an important factor in Lebanon. The country encompasses a great mix of indigenous and non-indigenous cultural, religious, and ethnic groups such as Arabs, Armenians, Kurds, Turks, amongst others. Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula invaded and occupied Lebanon in the 7th century AD. In the time since then, Arabic has become the lingua franca of the area and much of the population of Lebanon (especially Muslims) have come to identify as Arab. Ethnic identity has come to revolve increasingly around aspects of cultural self-identification more than descent. To an extent, religious affiliation has also become a substitute in some respects for ethnic affiliation.[9]

Generally, the cultural and linguistic heritage of the People of Lebanon is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. Moreover, in a 2013 interview, the lead investigator, Pierre Zalloua, pointed out that genetic variation preceded religious variation and divisions: "Lebanon already had well-differentiated communities with their own genetic peculiarities, but not significant differences, and religions came as layers of paint on top. There is no distinct pattern that shows that one community carries significantly more Phoenician than another".[10]

Religious groups

Three Lebanese women in 1873.

The Lebanese Christians are some of the oldest Christians in the world, preceded only by Armenian Christians, Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians, the Copts of Egypt and Sudan, and the Saint Thomas Christians of India. The Maronite Christians belong to the West Syriac Rite. Their Liturgical language is the Syriac-Aramaic language.[11][12] The Melkite Greek Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, tend to focus more on the Greco-Hellenistic heritage of the region from the days of the Byzantine Empire, and the fact that Greek was maintained as a liturgical language until very recently. Some Lebanese even claim partial descent from Crusader knights who ruled Lebanon for a couple of centuries during the Middle Ages, also backed by recent genetic studies which confirmed this among Lebanese people, especially in the north of the country that was under the Crusader County of Tripoli. This identification with non-Arab civilizations also exists in other religious communities, albeit not to the same extent.

The sectarian system

Lebanon's religious divisions are extremely complicated, and the country is made up by a multitude of religious groupings. The ecclesiastical and demographic patterns of the sects and denominations are complex. Divisions and rivalries between groups date back as far as 15 centuries, and still are a factor today. The pattern of settlement has changed little since the 7th century, but instances of civil strife and ethnic cleansing, most recently during the Lebanese Civil War, has brought some important changes to the religious map of the country. (See also History of Lebanon.)

Lebanon has by far the largest proportion of Christians of any Middle Eastern country, but both Christians and Muslims are sub-divided into many splinter sects and denominations. Population statistics are highly controversial. The various denominations and sects each have vested interests in inflating their own numbers. Shias, Sunnis, Maronites and Eastern Orthodox (the four largest denominations) all often claim that their particular religious affiliation holds a majority in the country, adding up to over 150% of the total population, even before counting the other denominations. One of the rare things that most Lebanese religious leaders will agree on is to avoid a new general census, for fear that it could trigger a new round of denominational conflict. The last official census was performed in 1932.

Religion has traditionally been of overriding importance in defining the Lebanese population. Dividing state power between the religious denominations and sects, and granting religious authorities judicial power, dates back to Ottoman times (the millet system). The practice was reinforced during French mandate, when Christian groups were granted privileges. This system of government, while partly intended as a compromise between sectarian demands, has caused tensions that still dominate Lebanese politics to this day.

The Christian population majority is believed to have ended in the early 1970s, but government leaders would agree to no change in the political power balance. This led to Muslim demands for increased representation, and the constant sectarian tension slid into violent conflict in 1958 (prompting U.S. intervention) and again in the grueling Lebanese Civil War, in 1975–90.

Natural Growth Rate in Lebanon throughout years

The balance of power has been slightly adjusted in the 1943 National Pact, an informal agreement struck at independence, in which positions of power were divided according to the 1932 census. The Sunni elite was then accorded more power, but Maronites continued to dominate the system. The sectarian balance was again adjusted towards the Muslim side but simultaneously further reinforced and legitimized. Shia Muslims (by now the second largest sect) then gained additional representation in the state apparatus, and the obligatory Christian-Muslim representation in Parliament was downgraded from a 6:5 to a 1:1 ratio. Christians of various denominations were then generally thought to constitute about 40% of the population, although often Muslim leaders would cite lower numbers, and some Christians would claim that they still held a majority of the population.

18 recognized religious groups

An estimate of the area distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups
Distribution of Lebanon's religious groups according to 2009 municipal election data

The present Lebanese Constitution officially acknowledges 18 religious groups (see below). These have the right to handle family law according to their courts and traditions, and they are the basic players in Lebanon's complex sectarian politics.

Religious population statistics

Note: stateless Palestinians and Syrians are not included in the statistics below since they do not hold Lebanese citizenship. The numbers only include the present population of Lebanon, and not the Lebanese diaspora.

The 1932 census stated that Christians made up 50% of the resident population. Maronites, the largest among the Christian denomination and then largely in control of the state apparatus, accounted for 29% of the total resident population.

The total population of Lebanon was reported to be 1,411,000 in 1956.[13] The largest communities were Maronites (424,000), Sunni Muslims (286,000), Shiite Muslims(250,000), Greek Orthodox (149,000), Greek Catholics (91,000), Druzes (88,000), Armenian Orthodox (64,000), Armenian Catholics (15,000), Protestants (14,000), Jews (7,000), Syriac Catholics (6,000), Syriac Orthodox (5,000), Latins (4,000) and Nestorian Chaldeans (1,000).[13]

A 2010 study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, cited by the United States Department of State found that Lebanon's population of approximately 4.3 million was estimated to be:[14]

There is also a very small number of other religious minorities such as, Baháʼís, Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons.[14]

In 2022, the CIA World Factbook specified that of the citizen population (data do not include Lebanon's sizable Syrian and Palestinian refugee populations), 67.8% are Muslims (31.9% Sunni, 31.2% Shia, with smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailis), 32.4% are Christians (mostly Maronites, Eastern Orthodox, Melkite Catholics, Protestant, Armenian Apostolic, Assyrian Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic, Syriac Catholic), 4.5% are Druze, and there are "very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, and Hindus".[15]

Census of 1932

Residents Emigrants before 30/08/1924 Emigrants after 30/08/1924
paying taxes does not pay paying taxes does not pay
Sunni 178,100 2,653 9,840 1,089 3,623
Shi'i 155,035 2,977 4,543 1,770 2,220
Druze 53,334 2,067 3,205 1,183 2,295
Maronite 227,800 31,697 58,457 11,434 21,809
Greek Catholic 46,709 7,190 16,544 1,855 4,038
Greek Orthodox 77,312 12,547 31,521 3,922 9,041
Protestant 6,869 607 1,575 174 575
Armenian Orthodox 26,102 1 60 191 1,718
Armenian Catholic 5,890 9 50 20 375
Syriac Orthodox 2,723 6 34 3 54
Syriac Catholic 2,803 9 196 6 101
Jews 3,588 6 214 7 188
Chaldean Orthodox 190 0 0 0 0
Chaldean Catholic 548 0 6 0 19
Miscellaneous 6,393 212 758 59 234
Total 793,396 59,981 127,003 21,713 46,290
Foreigners 61.297
source[16]

Muslims

A map of religious and ethnic communities of Syria and Lebanon (1935)

According to the CIA World Factbook,[15] in 2021 the Muslim population was estimated at 60% within Lebanese territory and 20% of the over 4 million[5][6][7] Lebanese diaspora population. In 2012 a more detailed breakdown of the size of each Muslim sect in Lebanon was made:

  • Other Muslim sects have a small presence, with the Isma'ilis and Alawites combined comprising less than 1% of the population and are included among Lebanese Shia Muslims. Alawites are eligible for two seats in the Lebanese parliament, representing Alawites of Akkar and Tripoli.

Christians

Religion map of Lebanon by municipality according to municipal elections data.

According to the CIA World Factbook,[15] in 2021, the Christian population in Lebanon was estimated at 35%. In 2012 a more detailed breakdown of the size of each Christian sect in Lebanon was made:

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the deputy Prime Minister are reserved for Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Druze

The Druze constitute 5%[15] of the population and are almost entirely concentrated in Aley and Chouf in southern Mount Lebanon, and in the Hasbaya and Rashaya districts.[17] Even though the faith originally developed out of Isma'ili Shia Islam, most Druze do not identify as Muslims,[29][30] and do not accept the five pillars of Islam.[31]

Other religions

Other religions account for only an estimated 0.3% of the population mainly foreign temporary workers, according to the CIA World Factbook. There remains a very small Jewish population, traditionally centered in Beirut. It has been larger: most Jews left the country after the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) as thousands of Lebanese did at that time.

Diaspora

Prominent Lebanese Figures
وجوه من لبنان
Prominent Lebanese people and people of Lebanese descent.

Apart from the four and a half million citizens of Lebanon proper, there is a sizeable Lebanese diaspora. There are more Lebanese people living outside of Lebanon (over 4 million[5][6][7]), than within (4.6 million citizens plus 1.5 million refugees). The majority of the diaspora population consists of Lebanese Christians; however, there are some who are Muslim. They trace their origin to several waves of Christian emigration, starting with the exodus that followed the 1860 Lebanon conflict in Ottoman Syria.

Under the current Lebanese nationality law, diaspora Lebanese do not have an automatic right of return to Lebanon. Due to varying degrees of assimilation and high degree of interethnic marriages, most diaspora Lebanese have not passed on the Arabic language to their children, while still maintaining a Lebanese ethnic identity.

Many Lebanese families are economically and politically prominent in several Latin American countries (in 2007 Mexican Carlos Slim Helú, son of Lebanese immigrants, was determined to be the wealthiest man in the World by Fortune Magazine), and make up a substantial portion of the Lebanese American community in the United States. The largest Lebanese diaspora is located in Brazil, where about 6–7 million people have Lebanese descent (see Lebanese Brazilian). In Argentina, there is also a large Lebanese diaspora of approximately 1.5 million people having Lebanese descent. (see Lebanese Argentine). In Canada, there is also a large Lebanese diaspora of approximately 250,000-500,000 people having Lebanese descent. (see Lebanese Canadians).

There are also sizable populations in West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Senegal.

The large size of Lebanon's diaspora may be partly explained by the historical and cultural tradition of seafaring and traveling, which stretches back to Lebanon's ancient Phoenician origins and its role as a "gateway" of relations between Europe and the Middle East. It has been commonplace for Lebanese citizens to emigrate in search of economic prosperity. Furthermore, on several occasions in the last two centuries the Lebanese population has endured periods of ethnic cleansing and displacement (for example, 1840–60 and 1975–90). These factors have contributed to the geographical mobility of the Lebanese people.

While under Syrian occupation, Beirut passed legislation which prevented second-generation Lebanese of the diaspora from automatically obtaining Lebanese citizenship. This has reinforced the émigré status of many diaspora Lebanese. There is currently a campaign by those Lebanese of the diaspora who already have Lebanese citizenship to attain the vote from abroad, which has been successfully passed in the Lebanese parliament and will be effective as of 2013 which is the next parliamentary elections. If suffrage was to be extended to these 1.2 million Lebanese émigré citizens, it would have a significant political effect, since as many as 80% of them are believed to be Christian.

Lebanese Civil War refugees and displaced persons

With no official figures available, it is estimated that 600,000–900,000 persons fled the country during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90). Although some have since returned, this permanently disturbed Lebanese population growth and greatly complicated demographic statistics.

Another result of the war was a large number of internally displaced persons. This especially affected the southern Shia community, as Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978, 1982, and 1996 prompted waves of mass emigration, in addition to the continual strain of occupation and fighting between Israel and Hezbollah (mainly 1982 to 2000).

Many Shias from Southern Lebanon resettled in the suburbs south of Beirut. After the war, the pace of Christian emigration accelerated, as many Christians felt discriminated against in a Lebanon under increasingly oppressive Syrian occupation.

According to a UNDP study, as much as 10% of the Lebanese had a disability in 1990.[32] Other studies have pointed to the fact that this portion of society is highly marginalized due to the lack of educational and governmental support of their advancement.[32]

Languages

Arabic is the official language of the country. Lebanese Arabic is mostly spoken in non-official contexts. French and English are taught in many schools from a young age. Among the Armenian ethnic minority in Lebanon, the Armenian language is taught and spoken within the Armenian community.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

US Census Statistics
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

  • Population:
Total population: 6,100,075 (July 2018 est.)
Lebanese nationals: 4,680,212 (July 2018 est.)
Syrian refugees: 944,613 (April 2019 est.) registered at the UNHCR (down from 1,077,000 in June 2014)
Palestinian refugees: 175,555 (2018 est.)
Iraqi refugees: 5,695 (2017 est.)

Age structure:

  • 0–14 years: 23.32% (male 728,025/female 694,453) 15–24 years: 16.04% (male 500,592/female 477,784) 25–54 years: 45.27% (male 1,398,087/female 1,363,386) 55–64 years: 8.34% (male 241,206/female 267,747) 65 years and over: 7.03% (male 185,780/female 243,015) (2018 est.)
  • Median age:
Total: 31.3 years
Male: 30.7 years
Female: 31.9 years (2018 est.)
  • Population growth rate:
1.04% (2005 est.)
0.96% (2011 est.)
−3.13% (2018 est.)
  • Net migration rate:
−4.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
−40.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)
  • Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
  • Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.9 years
male: 76.6 years
female: 79.3 years (2018 est.)

Vital statistics

UN estimates

The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.[33]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950 1 350   55   17   38 40.8 12.6 28.2 5.81 75.0 61.04
1951   1 388   57   17   39 40.8 12.6 28.2 5.80 73.8 61.37
1952   1 428   58   18   41 40.7 12.3 28.4 5.80 71.4 61.73
1953   1 469   60   18   42 40.6 12.0 28.6 5.80 69.1 62.23
1954   1 512   61   18   44 40.5 11.7 28.8 5.81 67.1 62.65
1955   1 556   63   18   45 40.3 11.7 28.6 5.81 67.4 62.42
1956   1 602   64   18   46 40.1 11.0 29.0 5.81 63.2 63.38
1957   1 649   66   18   48 39.8 10.7 29.2 5.81 61.4 63.90
1958   1 697   67   19   48 39.5 11.3 28.2 5.81 59.8 62.08
1959   1 747   69   18   51 39.2 10.1 29.2 5.82 58.2 64.61
1960   1 798   70   18   52 38.8 9.8 29.0 5.82 56.7 64.84
1961   1 853   71   18   53 38.3 9.5 28.8 5.81 55.4 65.29
1962   1 912   72   18   55 37.9 9.3 28.5 5.80 54.3 65.40
1963   1 972   74   18   56 37.4 9.1 28.3 5.78 53.0 65.67
1964   2 030   74   18   57 36.7 8.8 27.8 5.72 51.9 65.95
1965   2 087   75   18   57 35.9 8.6 27.3 5.65 50.9 66.07
1966   2 146   76   18   57 35.2 8.5 26.8 5.57 50.0 66.16
1967   2 203   76   18   58 34.7 8.2 26.4 5.49 49.2 66.52
1968   2 262   77   18   59 34.1 8.1 26.0 5.38 48.6 66.61
1969   2 324   78   19   60 33.7 8.0 25.7 5.28 48.0 66.70
1970   2 382   79   19   61 33.3 7.9 25.5 5.17 47.5 66.76
1971   2 442   80   19   61 33.0 7.8 25.2 5.04 47.0 66.82
1972   2 506   82   19   63 32.8 7.7 25.1 4.93 46.5 66.91
1973   2 570   83   19   64 32.4 7.5 25.0 4.81 45.9 67.23
1974   2 633   85   20   65 32.2 7.4 24.8 4.69 45.3 67.29
1975   2 692   86   30   56 31.9 11.1 20.8 4.56 45.2 58.13
1976   3 070   87 85 2 31.8 31.2 0.6 4.42 102.9 33.74
1977   3 458   110   37   73 31.7 10.7 21.0 4.31 52.8 59.28
1978   3 183   111   37   74 31.5 10.6 20.9 4.20 51.7 59.38
1979   2 902   91   31   61 31.4 10.5 20.9 4.09 50.6 59.47
1980   2 964   93   31   62 31.4 10.4 21.0 4.03 49.4 59.67
1981   3 027   95   31   64 31.5 10.2 21.3 3.98 48.2g 59.92
1982   3 070   96   60   36 31.2 19.4 11.8 3.89 70.1 45.13
1983   3 107   96   31   65 30.8 9.9 20.9 3.79 39.9 59.96
1984   3 164   96   31   65 30.4 9.8 20.7 3.70 38.6 60.30
1985   3 227   96   31   65 29.8 9.7 20.1 3.59 37.4 60.49
1986   3 308   96   31   65 29.3 9.4 19.8 3.50 35.8 60.97
1987   3 391   98   31   66 28.8 9.3 19.6 3.43 40.1 61.43
1988   3 457   99   32   68 28.7 9.1 19.5 3.40 38.7 61.72
1989   3 526   101   28   73 28.6 8.0 20.7 3.39 27.8 64.16
1990   3 594   100   28   72 27.8 7.8 20.0 3.30 26.7 64.48
1991   3 667   99   19   80 26.9 5.2 21.7 3.19 25.7 71.18
1992   3 745   97   20   78 25.9 5.2 20.7 3.08 24.8 71.19
1993   3 819   95   20   75 24.9 5.2 19.7 2.97 23.7 71.38
1994   3 888   93   20   73 23.9 5.1 18.9 2.87 22.5 71.68
1995   3 960   92   20   72 23.1 5.0 18.2 2.78 21.5 72.04
1996   4 034   91   20   72 22.7 4.9 17.7 2.74 20.6 72.29
1997   4 108   90   20   71 22.0 4.8 17.2 2.66 19.6 72.78
1998   4 179   90   20   70 21.4 4.8 16.6 2.60 18.7 72.94
1999   4 250   89   20   69 21.0 4.6 16.3 2.55 17.9 73.49
2000   4 321   89   20   69 20.5 4.6 15.9 2.50 17.0 73.93
2001   4 389   89   20   69 20.2 4.5 15.7 2.46 15.9 74.37
2002   4 447   88   19   69 19.7 4.3 15.4 2.41 14.9 75.06
2003   4 505   86   19   67 19.2 4.2 15.0 2.35 13.9 75.59
2004   4 575   85   19   66 18.6 4.2 14.4 2.27 13.0 75.98
2005   4 643   84   19   64 18.0 4.2 13.9 2.20 12.0 76.27
2006   4 720   83   20   63 17.7 4.3 13.4 2.16 11.2 76.08
2007   4 810   83   20   64 17.3 4.1 13.2 2.11 10.4 77.08
2008   4 888   84   20   64 17.1 14.0 13.1 2.08 9.7 77.58
2009   4 951   85   20   65 17.2 4.0 13.2 2.09 9.2 77.89
2010   4 996   88   20   68 17.6 4.1 13.5 2.13 8.7 78.16
2011   5 045   90   21   69 17.9 4.1 13.8 2.16 8.4 78.40
2012   5 178   92   21   70 17.9 4.1 13.8 2.17 8.0 78.63
2013   5 679   95   22   73 17.9 4.2 13.7 2.17 7.8 78.77
2014   6 274   110   26   84 17.9 4.2 13.7 2.18 7.5 78.97
2015 6 399 116   28 88 17.8 4.2 13.5 2.18 7.2 79.23
2016   6 259   111   28   83 17.4 4.3 13.1 2.18 6.8 79.51
2017   6 109   105   28   77 16.9 4.5 12.4 2.17 6.6 79.65
2018   5 951   99   29   70 16.3 4.7 11.6 2.15 6.4 79.73
2019   5 782   93   31   63 15.8 5.2 10.6 2.13 6.2 79.24
2020   5 663   88   36   52 15.3 6.3 9.1 2.10 6.0 77.80
2021   5 593   84   47   38 14.9 8.3 6.7 2.09 5.8 75.05

Registered births and deaths

[34][35] Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR)
1990 70,903 13,263 57,640
1991 82,742 15,773 66,969
1992 94,607 18,042 76,565
1993 90,947 24,223 66,724
1994 90,712 18,421 72,291
1995 91,196 19,230 71,966
1996 86,997 19,962 67,035
1997 85,018 19,884 65,134
1998 84,250 20,097 64,153
1999 85,955 19,813 66,142
2000 87,795 19,435 68,360
2001 83,693 17,568 66,125
2002 76,405 17,294 59,111
2003 71,702 17,187 54,515
2004 73,900 17,774 56,126 1.75
2005 73,973 18,012 55,961
2006 72,790 18,787 54,003
2007 3,759,137 80,896 21,092 59,804 21.5 5.6 15.9
2008 84,823 21,048 63,775 22.3 5.5 16.8
2009 90,388 22,260 68,128 23.4 5.8 17.6
2010 95,218 22,926 72,292 23.2 5.4 17.8
2011 98,491 24,731 73,760 25.4 6.0 19.6 1.60
2012 94,826 25,731 69,095 23.3 5.8 17.5
2013 96,178 24,351 71,827 23.2 6.1 17.1
2014 104,851 25,625 79,226 23.0 6.5 16.5
2015 98,164 25,468 72,696 22.3 6.6 15.7
2016 97,372 25,600 71,772 23.1 6.4 16.7
2017 103,931 26,953 76,978 23.5 6.7 16.9 1.8
2018 3,864,000 115,229 26,829 88,400 23.2 6.5 16.7
2019 3,910,000 120,839 30,355 90,484 22.0 6.4 15.6
2020 3,944,000 93,520 29,097 64,423 18.9 6.8 12.1
2021 3,966,000 86,613 35,621 50,992
2022 3,989,000 80,616 30,062 50,554

Immigrants and ethnic groups

There are substantial numbers of immigrants from other Arab countries (mainly Palestine, Syria, Iraq) and non-Arab-speaking Muslim countries. Also, recent years have seen an influx of people from Ethiopia[36] and South East Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka,[37] as well as smaller numbers of other immigrant minorities, Colombians and Brazilians (of Lebanese descent themselves). Most of these are employed as guest workers in the same fashion as Syrians and Palestinians, and entered the country to search for employment in the post-war reconstruction of Lebanon. Apart from the Palestinians, there are approximately 180,000 stateless persons in Lebanon.

Summary including non-Lebanese.

  Lebanese (56%)
  Syrian (30%)
  Palestinian (8%)
  Armenian (2.2%)
  Other (4.6%)

Armenians, Jews and Iranians

Lebanese Armenians, Jews and Iranians form more distinct ethnic minorities, all of them in possession of a separate languages (Armenian, Hebrew, Persian) and a national home area (Armenia, Israel, Iran) outside of Lebanon. However, they combined total 5% of the population.

French and Italians

During the French Mandate of Lebanon, there was a fairly large French minority and a tiny Italian minority. Most of the French and Italian settlers left after Lebanese independence in 1943 and only 22,000 French Lebanese and 4,300 Italian Lebanese continue to live in Lebanon. The most important legacy of the French Mandate is the frequent use and knowledge of the French language by most of the educated Lebanese people, and Beirut is still known as the "Paris of the Middle East".

Palestinians

Around 175,555 Palestinian refugees were registered in Lebanon with the UNRWA in 2014, who are refugees or descendants of refugees from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Some 53% live in 12 Palestine refugee camps, who "suffer from serious problems" such as poverty and overcrowding.[38] Some of these may have emigrated during the civil war, but there are no reliable figures available. There are also a number of Palestinians who are not registered as UNRWA refugees, because they left earlier than 1948 or were not in need of material assistance. The exact number of Palestinians remain a subject of great dispute and the Lebanese government will not provide an estimate. A figure of 400,000 Palestinian refugees would mean that Palestinians constitute less than 7% of the resident population of Lebanon.

Palestinians living in Lebanon are considered foreigners and are under the same restrictions on employment applied to other foreigners. Prior to 2010, they were under even more restrictive employment rules which permitted, other than work for the U.N., only the most menial employment. They are not allowed to attend public schools, own property, or make an enforceable will.[39] Palestinian refugees, who constitute nearly 6.6% of the country's population, have long been denied basic rights in Lebanon. They are not allowed to attend public schools, own property or pass on inheritances, measures Lebanon says it has adopted to preserve their right to return to their property in what constitutes Israel now.

Their presence is controversial, and resisted by large segments of the Christian population, who argue that the primarily Sunni Muslim Palestinians dilute Christian numbers. Many Shia Muslims also look unfavorably upon the Palestinian presence since the refugee camps have tended to be concentrated in their home areas. The Lebanese Sunnis, however, would be happy to see these Palestinians given the Lebanese nationality, thus increasing the Lebanese Sunni population by well over 10% and tipping the fragile electoral balance much in favor of the Sunnis. Late prime minister Rafiq Hariri —himself a Sunni— had hinted on more than one occasion on the inevitability of granting these refugees Lebanese citizenship. Thus far the refugees lack Lebanese citizenship as well as many rights enjoyed by the rest of the population, and are confined to severely overcrowded refugee camps, in which construction rights are severely constricted.

Palestinians may not work in a large number of professions, such as lawyers and doctors. However, after negotiations between Lebanese authorities and ministers from the Palestinian National Authority some professions for Palestinians were allowed (such as taxi driver and construction worker). The material situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is difficult, and they are believed to constitute the poorest community in Lebanon, as well as the poorest Palestinian community with the possible exception of Gaza Strip refugees. Their primary sources of income are UNRWA aid and menial labor sought in competition with Syrian guest workers.

The Palestinians are majority Sunni Muslims with a Christian minority, though at some point Christians counted as high as 40% with Muslims at 60%. The numbers of Palestinian Christians has diminished in later years, as many have managed to leave Lebanon.

60,000 Palestinians have received Lebanese citizenship.

Syrians

In 1976, the then Syrian president Hafez al-Assad sent troops into Lebanon to fight PLO forces on behalf of Christian militias. This led to escalated fighting until a cease-fire agreement later that year that allowed for the stationing of Syrian troops within Lebanon. The Syrian presence in Lebanon quickly changed sides; soon after they entered Lebanon they had flip-flopped and began to fight the Christian nationalists in Lebanon they allegedly entered the country to protect. The Kateab Party and the Lebanese Forces under Bachir Gemayel strongly resisted the Syrians in Lebanon. In 1989, 40,000 Syrian troops remained in central and eastern Lebanon under the supervision of the Syrian government. Although, the Taif Accord, established in the same year, called for the removal of Syrian troops and transfer of arms to the Lebanese army, the Syrian Army remained in Lebanon until the Lebanese Cedar Revolution in 2005 ended the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

In 1994, the Lebanese government under the pressure of the Syrian government, gave Lebanese passports to thousands of Syrians.[40]

There are nearly 1.08 million registered[41] Syrian refugees in Lebanon[42] but is estimated that Lebanon hosts 1.5 million.[43]

Assyrians

There are an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 Iraqi Assyrian refugees in Lebanon. The vast majority of them are undocumented, with a large number having been deported or put in prison.[44] They belong to various denominations, including the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, and Syriac Catholic Church.

Iraqis

Due to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Lebanon received a mass influx of Iraqi refugees numbering at around 100,000. The vast majority of them are undocumented, with a large number having been deported or put in prison.[44]

Kurds

There are an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Kurdish refugees from Turkey and Syria within Lebanese territory. Many of them are undocumented. As of 2012, around 40% of all Kurds in Lebanon do not have Lebanese citizenship.[45]

Turks

The Turkish people began to migrate to Lebanon once the Ottoman sultan Selim I conquered the region in 1516. Turks were encouraged to stay in Lebanon by being rewarded with land and money.[46] Today the Turkish minority numbers approximately 80,000.[47] Moreover, since the Syrian Civil War, approximately 125,000 to 150,000 Syrian Turkmen refugees arrived in Lebanon, and hence they now outnumber the long established Turkish minority who settled since the Ottoman era.[48][49]

Circassians

The Circassians migrated to the Ottoman Empire including Lebanon and neighboring countries in the 18th and 19th century. However, they are mostly located in Akkar Governorate, in which they have come to Berkail since 1754. Today the Circassian minority numbers approximately 100,000.[50][51]

See also

Notes

    References

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