Lebanon

Lebanon occupies a slender strip of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, where limestone ridges rise abruptly from a narrow coastal plain, giving way inland to the fertile Beqaa Valley and, beyond it, the Anti-Lebanon range. Covering just over ten thousand square kilometres, it shares borders with Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Slightly more than five million people live within its frontiers, concentrated chiefly in and around Beirut, the capital and nation’s principal port.

Human presence stretches back to at least 5000 BC. From the third millennium BC until the mid-first millennium BC the coastal cities formed the core of Phoenicia, whose merchants and shipbuilders established colonies across the Mediterranean. In 64 BC Roman governance brought new roads, theatres and temples. By the seventh century AD control had shifted to successive Islamic caliphates; later centuries saw Crusader polities supplanted by Ayyubid and then Mamluk rule. Ottoman administration took hold in the early fifteenth century, though under Sultan Abdulmejid I the Tanzimat reforms of the mid-nineteenth century created the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, a semi-autonomous district designed to protect Maronite Christians.

The collapse of Ottoman power after World War I placed Lebanon under a French mandate. In 1920 Greater Lebanon emerged, its borders extending eastward to include the Beqaa Valley. Independence arrived in 1943, under a constitution that assigned political offices according to religious affiliation—a system intended to balance Christian, Muslim and Druze communities. Peace held until 1975, when sectarian tensions erupted into civil war. Fighting continued until 1990, during which time Syrian forces intervened (1976–2005) and Israeli incursions persisted in the south. Conflict with Israel resumed intermittently, culminating in several invasions; the most recent confrontation began in October 2023 and remains unresolved.

Topography divides Lebanon into four distinct regions. A narrow coastal plain, formed of marine sediments and river alluvium, widens near the Syrian frontier and narrows to rocky headlands at the Israeli border. Inland, the Lebanon range—limestone and sandstone peaks rising over three thousand metres at Qurnat as Sawdaʾ—runs parallel to the shore, carved by steep gorges and draped with snow each winter. Farther east, the Beqaa Valley lies in a rift that extends into East Africa. Its deep soils support vineyards and orchards. Beyond the valley rises the Anti-Lebanon massif, culminating at Mount Hermon, whose slopes straddle the disputed Shebaa Farms.

Lebanon’s rivers are short and non-navigable. Thirteen rise in the western mountains, coursing westward to the sea; the Litani is the longest, flowing northward through the Beqaa before bending west. Seasonal torrents refill their beds each winter, while springs and irrigation canals sustain agriculture during summer’s dry months.

Climate varies with elevation. Coastal zones receive most rainfall between November and March, with winters cool and summers humid. Above one thousand metres, winter temperatures drop below freezing, and heavy snowfall can persist into May. In February 2025 a polar weather system termed Storm Adam brought snow to elevations as low as three hundred metres and record-low temperatures across the mountains.

Administratively, nine governorates subdivide into twenty-five districts and numerous municipalities. Lebanon’s economic framework is rooted in laissez-faire principles. Most transactions employ the US dollar. Capital flows cross borders without restriction. The Investment Development Authority of Lebanon, formed in 1994 and strengthened by Investment Law No. 360 of 2001, promotes foreign direct investment in technology, agribusiness and renewable energy.

Yet in recent years the economy has collapsed. From 2018 to 2023 GDP contracted by forty per cent. The Lebanese pound lost ninety-five per cent of its value against the dollar. Inflation surged above two hundred per cent. The official exchange rate was abandoned for the first time in twenty-five years. Banks imposed informal capital controls. By 2023, three of every four Lebanese lived below the poverty line. The World Bank ranks this downturn among the most severe since the nineteenth century. Its roots lie in a long-running financing scheme by the central bank, which borrowed dollars at high interest to fund public deficits. When deposit growth slowed, the system collapsed, culminating in default in 2020 and the port explosion in Beirut that same year.

Before this crisis, from the Ottoman era through the 1960s, Lebanon thrived as a regional banking hub and distribution centre. Commerce in food processing, textiles, jewellery and carpets sustained a rising standard of living. Post-war reconstruction repurposed the economy around services—banking, real estate and tourism now employ two-thirds of the workforce and account for a similar share of GDP. Remittances from a widespread diaspora contributed roughly one-fifth of national income in 2008. Those networks extend to Africa, the Americas and Australia, where Lebanese communities operate firms from retail shops to construction.

Tourism once provided a tenth of GDP. At its 2009 peak, arrivals exceeded 1.8 million; Beirut was named the world’s top destination by an international newspaper. Ten years later, regional strife in neighbouring Syria precipitated a 37 per cent drop in visitor numbers. In May 2025 the United Arab Emirates lifted its longstanding travel ban, renewing hopes for revival.

Lebanon’s population demographics remain sensitive. No census has occurred since 1932, when Christians formed a slight majority. Estimates for 2021 place total residents at 5.6 million, including nearly a million refugees from Syria and Palestine. Lebanese nationals number about 4.7 million. Religious diversity ranks among the highest in the region. Four Muslim sects, twelve Christian churches, as well as Druze and a tiny Jewish community are officially recognized. Recent studies suggest Muslims (including Druze) constitute roughly two-thirds of citizens and Christians one-third. Survey data points to a modest decline in religious observance among younger generations.

Language reflects this plurality. Arabic serves as the official tongue, with Modern Standard Arabic reserved for print media and formal addresses. Colloquial Lebanese Arabic prevails in daily life. French retains legal status and appears in business and education; nearly forty per cent of Lebanese identify as francophone. English has gained ground in science and commerce, and both European languages supplant Arabic among many urban youths. Armenian, Greek and Assyrian languages persist among those respective communities.

Cultural life bears marks of its Phoenician origins, Roman legacies, Arab heritage and Ottoman and French stewardship. Music blends modal forms with Western instrumentation. Literature confronts war, exile and identity. Festivals—religious and secular—reflect local traditions and diasporic celebrations. Across the globe, Lebanese chefs operate nearly ten thousand restaurants, introducing dishes such as kibbe—a blend of ground lamb and cracked wheat—and tabbouleh, a salad of parsley, tomato and burghul, alongside regional variations on mezze spreads.

Cities offer distinct profiles. Beirut combines Ottoman-era facades with modern glass towers, forming a mosaic of neighborhoods where cafés spill onto sidewalks and nightlife pulses in both enclosed clubs and seaside bars. Tripoli, still bearing Mamluk architecture and the Crusader citadel, shows lingering scars of civil war and languishes in relative poverty. Sidon preserves its caravanserai, medieval souks and coastal promenades. Tyre carries Phoenician and Roman ruins on its broad beaches. Byblos stakes claim as one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements, its castle and ancient harbor surrounded by lively markets.

Visitors arrive chiefly by air through Beirut International Airport, linked by Middle East Airlines and various regional and European carriers. Buses and share taxis connect Damascus and other Syrian cities. A twice-weekly ferry links Tripoli with Turkey. Within Lebanon, cars remain the most efficient means of transit over uneven roads; hire rates require negotiation, as do fares on “service” taxis that function like informal minibuses. Uber operates in Beirut for those with internet access, and highways bisect mountains and plains, though potholes and erratic driving demand vigilance.

Social customs stress respect for elders, indirect communication and hospitality. Dress codes vary: modest attire suits religious sites and conservative districts; city centers allow more Western styles. Visitors should avoid discussions on sensitive political topics near borders and refrain from gestures considered rude, such as beckoning with a finger. Southern areas under militia influence present additional risks; Arsal, in the northern Beqaa, has seen sporadic kidnappings and remains inadvisable.

Pilgrims, scholars and tourists may find in Lebanon a layering of civilizations and climates: olive groves at sea level, snow-capped peaks in spring and valleys where vines yield wine unknown a century ago. The compact geography concentrates contrasts—coast and mountain, wealth and hardship, tradition and innovation—each shaping a society that persists despite conflict and economic collapse. In this convergence of histories and landscapes, Lebanon endures as a testament to adaptation under pressure and to the persistence of human communities in the eastern Mediterranean.