Lebanon Economy Profile 2008

Economy - overview

The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises, but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict in July-August 2006 caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage, and prompted international donors to pledge nearly $1 billion in recovery and reconstruction assistance. Donors met again in January 2007 and pledged over $7.5 billion to Lebanon for development projects and budget support, conditioned on progress on Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. Internal Lebanese political tension continues to hamper economic activity, particularly in the tourism and retail sectors.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$40.65 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$24 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,400 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 18.4%
services: 76.4% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line

28% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.6% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

19.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate

20% (2006 est.)

Budget

revenues: $6.116 billion
expenditures: $9.421 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt

188% of GDP (2007 est.)

Industries

banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Electricity - production

9.183 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption

10.58 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports

455 million kWh (2005)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

106,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

102,300 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$3.337 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats

Exports

$3.099 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper

Exports - partners

Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (2006)

Imports

$10 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery

Imports - partners

Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US 9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6.1%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$19.4 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$34.67 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares

$8.279 billion (2006)

Economic aid - recipient

of the $7.6 billion in grants and loans pledged to Lebanon at the Paris III conference in January 2007, Beirut as of mid-December 2007 had signed agreements for $3 billion, including $1 billion in project financing, $750 million in direct budget support, $750 million in private sector credit, and $285 million in in-kind aid; about $500 million of the $1.7 billion pledged for direct budget support has been disbursed to Lebanon; donors in August 2006 also pledged nearly $1.8 billion in aid to help Lebanon recover from the 2006 Israel-Hizballah war; during the conflict, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided $1.5 billion in concessional loans to the Lebanese central bank to maintain confidence in the Lebanese currency. (2005)

Currency (code)

Lebanese pound (LBP)

Exchange rates

Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2007), 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003)

Fiscal year

calendar year