Lebanon Economy Profile 2009

Economy - overview

Lebanon has a free-market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The government does not restrict foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from red tape, corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, high taxes, tariffs, and fees, archaic legislation, and weak intellectual property rights. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. 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 in 2000 began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and passing legislation to privatize 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 2002 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 at the Paris III Donor Conference and pledged more than $7.5 billion to Lebanon for development projects and budget support, conditioned on progress on Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. An 18-month political stalemate and sporadic sectarian and political violence hampered economic activity, particularly tourism, retail sales, and investment, until the new government was formed in July 2008. Political stability since the Doha Accord of May 2008 has helped to boost investment and tourism, but economic growth is likely to slow in 2009 as a result of the global economic recession.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$44.06 billion (2008 est.)
$41.45 billion (2007 est.)
$39.85 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$28.94 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6.3% (2008 est.)
4% (2007 est.)
-4.3% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$11,100 (2008 est.)
$10,600 (2007 est.)
$10,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 18.8%
services: 76.1% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

28% (1999 est.)

Labor force

1.481 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Unemployment rate

9.2% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Investment (gross fixed)

22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget

revenues: $6.998 billion
expenditures: $9.955 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt

164.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
177.9% of GDP (2004 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

10% (2008 est.)
4.2% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

NA% (31 December 2008)
12% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA% (31 December 2008)
10.26% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$2.374 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$NA (31 December 2008)
$57.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit

$NA (31 December 2008)
$45.51 billion (31 December 2007)

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

8.764 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 97.2%
hydro: 2.8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

8.161 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

929 million kWh (2006 est.)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption

106,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - imports

97,590 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$3.023 billion (2008 est.)
-$1.395 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$5.035 billion (2008 est.)
$4.077 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Syria 23.9%, UAE 12.4%, Switzerland 7.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.9%, Turkey 4% (2008)

Imports

$16.25 billion (2008 est.)
$11.93 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Syria 10.7%, France 9.7%, US 9.5%, Italy 7.4%, China 6.7%, Germany 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Turkey 4.3% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$28.28 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$20.55 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$34.03 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$31.6 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

$9.641 billion (31 December 2008)
$10.86 billion (31 December 2007)
$8.279 billion (31 December 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)

LBP

Currency (code)

Lebanese pound (LBP)

Exchange rates

Lebanese pounds (LBP) per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2008 est.), 1,507.5 (2007), 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004)

Fiscal year

calendar year