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Lebanon Demographics Profile

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Population5,261,372 (July 2021 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Lebanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic groupsArab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendants of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians
LanguagesArabic (official), French, English, Armenian

major-language sample(s):
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ReligionsMuslim 61.1% (30.6% Sunni, 30.5% Shia, smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailis), Christian 33.7% (Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group), Druze 5.2%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, and Hindus (2018 est.)

note: data represent the religious affiliation of the citizen population (data do not include Lebanon's sizable Syrian and Palestinian refugee populations); 18 religious sects recognized
Age structure0-14 years: 20.75% (male 581,015/female 554,175)

15-24 years: 14.98% (male 417,739/female 401,357)

25-54 years: 46.69% (male 1,296,250/female 1,257,273)

55-64 years: 9.62% (male 250,653/female 275,670)

65 years and over: 7.96% (male 187,001/female 248,479) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 48.4

youth dependency ratio: 37.2

elderly dependency ratio: 11.2

potential support ratio: 8.9 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 33.7 years

male: 33.1 years

female: 34.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.68% (2021 est.)
Birth rate13.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionthe majority of the people live on or near the Mediterranean coast, and of these most live in and around the capital, Beirut; favorable growing conditions in the Bekaa Valley, on the southeastern side of the Lebanon Mountains, have attracted farmers and thus the area exhibits a smaller population density
Urbanizationurban population: 89.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: -1.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population2.435 million BEIRUT (capital) (2021)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Maternal mortality rate29 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 78.53 years

male: 77.12 years

female: 80 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.71 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Health expenditures8.4% (2018)
Physicians density2.1 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density2.7 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 99% of population

unimproved: total: 1% of population (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS2,700 (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths<100 (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseasesnote: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Lebanon; as of 6 April 2021, Lebanon has reported a total of 480,502 cases of COVID-19 or 7,039.86 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 94.4 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 10 April 2021, 2.5% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Obesity - adult prevalence rate32% (2016)
Food insecurityexceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies:

due to the ongoing financial and economic crisis - in August 2020, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia estimated that more than 55% of the population lived in poverty, up from 28% in 2019; current figures are likely to be higher due to a fall in households' purchasing power; the already worrisome economic conditions, with increasing unemployment, poverty, and skyrocketing inflation rates, have further worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to contain the spread of the disease

(2021)

Education expenditures2.5% of GDP (2013)
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.1%

male: 96.9%

female: 93.3% (2018)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 11 years

male: 12 years

female: 11 years (2014)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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