Socio-Economic Background of Lebanon

According to the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) international classifications, Lebanon falls under the category of a developing country due to its low gross domestic product of $5,000 per person per year at the end of 2000.

Lebanon 's poverty is evident in the high level of social disparity and lack of public services. These disparities were heightened during the 1990s when the benefits of reconstruction were unevenly distributed in the country.

The economic and social situation in North Lebanon - mainly in the Akkar, Minnieh, Dannieh, and Bab el Tebbaneh regions - is bleak: it has the highest level of under-development in the country. It is noticeable in the lack of economic activity, human development, social structure and living conditions.

Studies of local social conditions show that North Lebanon, which used to be the second most economically active region in the 1970s, is now at the bottom of the list. The illiteracy rate in North Lebanon (16.7%) is the highest in the country: for women it is 21.2% and for men it is 12.2%. Women are often the primary sources of income as men's unemployment rate continues to increase. In addition, exorbitant costs of education prevent children from going to school.

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the UNDP, North Lebanon and Nabatieh have the lowest standards of living in Lebanon . The Akkar region contains the highest level of disadvantaged people at 12.5%, followed by the urban regions, especially the North and certain suburbs of Beirut.

Deprivation is severe in these regions: health equipment is insufficient; sanitation, such as a sewer system, is nonexistent; and housing is of low quality due to cramped quarters and a lack of hygiene. These regions suffer from an absence of essential public services; epidemics and diseases spread quickly.

Urbanization has resulted in an overpopulation of certain cities such as Tripoli , Halba, and Minnieh and accentuated the difficulties described above. This movement to the cities reduced agricultural productivity and pauperized the rural regions. Government aid to these rural areas and suburbs remains extremely limited.

The table below shows socio-economic indicators for various regions in Lebanon. One can see that the North and Akkar are the most affected by this critical social situation with respectively 43.8% and 63% of their population living below poverty level.

Table 1: Socio-Economical Indicators by Region
Region	Unemployment rate (%)	Unemployment rate for women (%)	Poverty (%)	Rate of infantile mortality (/1000 births)
North	10.6	9.1	43.8	48.1
Akkar	13.5	6.7	63	--
Beirut	7.5	8.0	18.4	19.6
Beirut Suburbs	8.6	7.0	24.7	27.6
Mount-Lebanon	7.0	7.7	24.7	27.6
South	9.1	5.5	36.9	27.2
Nabatieh	9.6	4.4	51.0
Bekaa	10.7	5.5	40.6	39.8
Average	9.0	7.2	32.1	27.9
Source: ACS (1998) and MSA-UNDP (1998)