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About 91% of the population of Lebanon is urban and comprises many different ethnic groups and religions, including numerous Christian and Muslim sects. Because the matter of religious balance is a sensitive political issue, a national census has not been conducted since 1932, before the founding of the modern Lebanese state. Consequently there is an absence of accurate data on the relative percentages of the population of the major religions and groups (source: US State Dept).

Ethnic groups

The Lebanese

Though of lesser importance than religious belonging, ethnic background is still a factor in Lebanon. The country encompasses a great mix of cultural, religious, and ethnic groups which have been building up for more than 6,000 years. Although most of the population is today considered Arab, in the sense that Arabic is the national language, the ethnic self-designations vary. The Arabs only reached Lebanon in the 7th century, and their culture was superimposed on an already diverse population. Lebanese are overall genetically similar to other Levantine populations, such as Syrians and (to a lesser extent) Jordanians, with a minimal foreign influence. The question of ethnic identity has come to revolve more around aspects of cultural self-identification more than descent. Religious affiliation has also become a substitute in some respects for ethnic affilitation.

Generally it can be said that all religious sects comprise many different ethnic backgrounds, and that clear ethnic boundaries are difficult to define. Still, religious and ethnic distinctions sometimes coincide, since religious sects have tended to marry within the group, thus preserving not only religious but ethnic characteristics. Also, one could claim that over time many of the religious sects have evolved into ethnic communities in their own right; the Druze are a prime example of this.

Many Lebanese, especially among Maronite Christians and in some cases the Druze and some Muslims, see themselves as descendants of the Phoenicians/Canaanites (recently supported by genetic studies, though it applies to Lebanese as a whole as well as some neighbouring populations) and tend to de-emphasize or deny Lebanon's Arab heritage. Melkite Greek Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and some Maronites tend to focus more on the Greek heritage of the region from the days of the Byzantine Empire, and the fact that Greek was maintained as a liturgical language until very recently. Some Christians even claim partial descent from Crusader knights who ruled Lebanon for a couple of centuries during the Middle Ages. This identification with non-Arab civilizations also exists in other religious communities, albeit not to the same extent. Many Muslims, as well as some Greek Orthodox and rural Roman Catholic Christians, tend to simply consider themselves as Arabs.

Lebanese Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, Kurds and Persians form more distinct ethnic minorities, all of them in possession of a national home area outside of Lebanon and separate languages. However, they total less than 4% of the population.

Palestinian refugees

402,582 Palestinian refugees were registered in Lebanon with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in March 2005, almost all refugees or descendants of refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Some of these may have emigrated during the civil war, but there are no reliable figures available. There are also a number of Palestinians who are not registered as UNRWA refugees, because they left earlier than 1948 or were not in need of material assistance. The exact number of Palestinians remain a subject of great dispute and the Lebanese government will not provide an estimate. A figure of 400,000 Palestinian refugees would mean that Palestinians constitute more than 10% of the resident population of Lebanon.

Their presence is controversial, and resisted by large segments of the Christian population, who argue that the primarily Sunni Muslim Palestinians dilute Christian numbers. Many Shi'a Muslims also look unfavorably upon the Palestinian presence, since the camps have tended to be concentrated in their home areas. As a result of this, Palestinians are not accorded the legal rights enjoyed by the rest of the population. They are denied citizenship and confined to severely overcrowded refugee camps, in which construction rights are severely constricted. Palestinians can't work in a large number of professions, such as lawyers, doctors, etc. However, after negotiations between Lebanese authorities and ministers from the Palestinian National Authority some professions for Palestinians were allowed (taxi driver, construction worker, etc..). The material situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is difficult, and they are believed to constitute the poorest community in Lebanon, as well as the poorest Palestinian community with the possible exception of Gaza refugees. Their primary sources of income are UNRWA aid and menial labor sought in competition with Syrian guest workers.

The Palestinians are mostly Sunni Muslim, but there is also a Christian minority of over 10% (primarily Greek Orthodox). The numbers of Palestinian Christians has diminished in later years, as many have managed to leave Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, Palestinian Christians sided with the rest of the Palestinian community, instead of allying with Lebanese Greek Orthodox or other Christian communities.

See also Demographics of Palestine.

Syrian workers and the 1994 naturalization

Lebanon holds a large number of Syrian workers, most of whom are employed on a seasonal basis and do not hold citizenship. They entered Lebanon mainly after Syria established its controversial occupation there during the Lebanese Civil War. They are employed in menial labor, working in areas such as construction. They are generally very poor and compete with the Palestinians over low-wage jobs. Some right-wing Lebanese argue that the presence of such a large number of Syrian workers should in fact be considered part of a Syrian colonization attempt, interlocking the economies and making Lebanon excessively dependent on Syria. Others have argued that the Syrian laborers have been essential to post-war reconstruction.

Their exact numbers are disputed, with right-wing Lebanese nationalists tending to give high estimates (up to 1.5 million) while others go as low as 300,000. The CIA Factbook suggest a figure of 1 million (2001). Regardless of which estimate is closer to the truth, numbers would naturally fluctuate according to season and to the situation of the Lebanese and Syrian economies.

In 1994, Lebanese authorities - then under Syrian domination - authorized a controversial granting of citizenship to Syrians (and a small number of Palestinians and others) in Lebanon. The precise number is disputed, figures ranging from a 100,000 people to half a million. It seems clear, however, that the act shifted the religious balance in Lebanon in favor of Sunni Muslims, and had important effects on the sectarian makeup of Lebanese politics.

The Syrians in Lebanon are Arab in the same linguistic sense as the Lebanese, but with a less ambiguous Arab self-identification. They are mainly Muslims of the Sunni sect, but due to Syria's diverse religious and ethnic population, many other groups are also included.

See also Demographics of Syria.

Other immigrants

There are substantial numbers of immigrants from other Arab countries. Also, recent years have seen an influx of people from South East Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, as well as smaller numbers of other immigrant minorities, Mexicans and Brazilians (of Lebanese descent themselves). Most of these are employed as guest workers in the same fashion as Syrians and Palestinians, and entered the country to search for employment in the post-war reconstruction of Lebanon. Apart from the Palestinians, there are approximately 180,000 stateless persons in Lebanon. Many of these are Kurds from Turkey and Syria, or other Syrians.

Due to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Lebanon has received a mass influx of Iraqi refugees numbering at around 100,000. The vast majority of them are undocumented, with a large number having been deported or put in prison.

Religious groups of Lebanon

The sectarian system

Lebanon's religious divisions are extremely complicated, and the country is made up by a multitude of religious groupings. The ecclesiastical and demographic patterns of the sects are complex. Divisions and rivalries between groups date back as far as 15 centuries, and still are a factor today. The pattern of settlement has changed little since the 7th century, but instances of civil strife and ethnic cleansing - most recently during the Lebanese Civil War - has brought some important changes to the religious map of the country. (See also History of Lebanon.)

Lebanon has by far the largest proportion of Christians of any Arab country, but both Christians and Muslims are sub-divided into many splinter sects. All population statistics are by necessity controversial, and all sects have a vested interest in inflating their own numbers. It is not uncommon to hear Sunnis, Shi'as and Maronites (the three largest sects) claim that their particular religious affiliation holds a majority in the country - adding up to over 150% of the total population, even before counting the other sects. One of the rare things that most Lebanese religious leaders will agree on is to avoid a new general census, out of fear that it could trigger a new round of sectarian conflict. The last official census was performed in 1932.

Religion has traditionally been of overriding importance in defining the Lebanese population. Dividing state power between the religious sects, and granting religious authorities judicial power, dates back to Ottoman times (the millet system). The practice was reinforced during French mandate, when Christian groups were granted privileges. This system of government, while partly intended as a compromise between sectarian demands, has caused tensions that still dominate Lebanese politics to this day. The Christian population majority is believed to have ended in the early 1930s, but government leaders would agree to no change in the political power balance. This led to Muslim demands of increased representation, and the constant sectarian tension slid into violent conflict in 1958 (prompting U.S. intervention) and again in the grueling Lebanese Civil War, in 1975-90.

The balance of power has been slightly adjusted in the 1943 National Pact, an informal agreement struck at independence, in which positions of power were divided according to the 1932 census. The Sunni elite was then accorded more power, but Maronites continued to dominate the system. The sectarian balance was again adjusted towards the Muslim side - but simultaneously further reinforced and legitimized . Shi'a Muslims (by now the largest sect) then gained additional representation in the state apparatus, and the obligatory Christian-Muslim representation in Parliament was downgraded from a 6:5 to a 1:1 proportion. Christians of various sects were then generally thought to constitute about 40% of the population, although often Muslim leaders would cite lower numbers, and some Christians would claim that they still held a majority of the population.

The 18 recognized sects

The present Lebanese Constitution officially acknowledges 18 religious groups (see below). These have the right to handle family law according to their own courts and traditions, and they are the basic players in Lebanon's complex sectarian politics. Still, it is important to note that these groups are not internally homogeneous; for example, the Maronite, Shi'a and Druze communities have been wracked by internal fighting even in recent times.

• Alawite
• Armenian Catholic
• Armenian Orthodox
• Assyrian Church of the East
• Chaldean Catholic
• Copts
• Druze
• Evangelical Christian (incl. Protestant groups such as Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists)
• Greek Catholic
• Greek Orthodox
• Isma'ili
• Jewish
• Maronite
• Roman Catholic
• Sunni
• Twelver Shi'a
• Syriac Catholic
• Syriac Orthodox

Religious population statistics

Note: stateless Palestinians and Syrians are not included in the statistics below since they do not hold Lebanese citizenship. The numbers only include the present population of Lebanon, and not the Lebanese diaspora.

The 1932 census stated that Christians made up 55% of the population. Maronites, largest among the Christian sects and then largely in control of the state apparatus, accounted for 29% of the total population. But since the 19th century, Muslim birth rates have been continually higher than Christian birth rates. Also, far larger numbers of Christians emigrated from Lebanon than Muslims.

Muslims

Today, there is general consensus that Muslims constitute a solid majority of the population; the CIA world factbook estimates their share to be 59.7% . Still, there is no single sect constituting a majority of the population by itself.

• Sunni Muslims constitute 29% of the total populations. Sunni notables traditionally held power in the Lebanese state together, and they are still the only sect eligible for the post of Prime Minister.
• Shi'a Muslims 29% of the total population. They have traditionally been the poorest community in Lebanon.
• The Druze are a small, tightly knit religious group who are labeled as non-Muslim by a majority of Islamic scholars.
• For information on the remaining Muslim communities, see the Isma'ili and Alawite articles. Both groups constitute less than 1% of Lebanon's population.

Christians

• The Maronites are the largest of the Christian groups. They have had a long and continuous association with the Roman Catholic Church, but have their own patriarch, liturgy, and customs. Traditionally they had good relations with the Western world, especially France and the Vatican. They traditionally dominated the Lebanese government, and the President of Lebanon is always Maronite. Their influence in later years has diminished, due to their relative decrease in numbers, but also due to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which generally benefited Shi'a and other Muslim communities, and was resisted by most Maronites. Today the Maronites are believed to compose nearly 20% of the population, scattered around the Lebanese countryside but with heavy concentrations on Mount Lebanon and in Beirut.

• The second largest Christian group is the Greek Orthodox. The church exists in many parts of the Arab world and Greek Orthodox Christians have often been noted for pan-Arab or pan-Syrian leanings; it has had less dealings with Western countries than the Maronites. They are believed to constitute about 8% of the total population, not counting the Palestinian Greek Orthodox community.

• The remaining Christian churches are thought to constitute another 10% (350,000) of the population (Greek Catholics i.e. Melkites about 200,000, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Assyrians, Protestants) with no single group over 5% of the total population. Please refer to their articles in the list above, for more information.

• For the Roman Catholics see Roman Catholicism in Lebanon.

Other religions

Other religions account for only an estimated 1.3% of the population, according to the CIA Factbook. There remains a very small Jewish population, traditionally centered in Beirut. It has been larger - most Jews left the country after the Six Day War in 1967. Add to this some negligible numbers of native Bahá'ís, Buddhists, and Hindus, of long since-naturalized immigrant families. New immigrants from South East Asia have recently brought in larger numbers of Buddhists and Hindus, and small populations of other immigrant religions are also present.

The Lebanese diaspora

Apart from the three and a half million citizens of Lebanon proper, there is a sizeable Lebanese diaspora. No accurate numbers are available, so estimates on the total size of the diaspora vary wildly, from conservative estimates of 4-5 million to a maximum, and probably inflated, figure of 15 million. Most Lebanese emigrants and their descendants are Christian. Lebanese Christian families are economically and politically prominent in several Latin American countries (in 2007 Mexican Carlos Slim Helú, son of Lebanese immigrants, was determined to be the wealthiest man in the World by Fortune Magazine), and make up a substantial portion of the Arab American community in the United States. The largest Lebanese diaspora is located in Brazil, where about 10 million people have Lebanese descent (see Arab Brazilian).

The large size of Lebanon's diaspora may be partly explained by the historical and cultural tradition of sea-faring and travelling, which stretches back to Lebanon's ancient Phoenician origins and its role as a "gateway" of relations between Europe and the Middle East. It has been commonplace for Lebanese citizens to emigrate in search of economic prosperity. Furthermore, on several occasions in the last two centuries the Lebanese population has endured periods of ethnic cleansing and displacement (for example, 1840-60 and 1975-90). These factors have contributed to the geographical mobility of the Lebanese people.

While under Syrian occupation, Beirut passed legislation which prevented second-generation Lebanese of the diaspora from automatically obtaining Lebanese citizenship. This has reinforced the emigré status of many diaspora Lebanese. There is currently a campaign by those Lebanese of the diaspora who already have Lebanese citizenship to attain the vote from abroad. If suffrage was to be extended to these 1.2 million Lebanese emigré citizens, it would have a significant political effect, since as many as 90% of them are believed to be Christian.

Civil war refugees and displaced persons

With no official figures available, it is estimated that 600,000-900,000 persons fled the country during the civil war (1975-90). Although some have since returned, this permanently disturbed Lebanese population growth, and has greatly complicated demographic statistics.

Another result of the war was a large number of internally displaced persons. This especially affected the southern Shi'a community, as Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978, 1982 and 1996 prompted waves of mass emigration, in addition to the continual strain of occupation and fighting between Israel and Hizbullah (mainly 1982 to 2000). Many Shi'a resettled in hastily constructed slum suburbs south of Beirut, the so-called "belt of misery". After the war, the pace of Christian emigration accelerated, as many Christians felt discriminated against in a Lebanon under increasingly oppressive Syrian occupation.

Languages in Lebanon

Arabic (official), French, Armenian, English.

Population statistics

• Population:

Total population: 3,826,018 (July 2005 est.)

• Age structure:

0-14 years: 26.7% (male 520,270; female 499,609)

15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,216,738; female 1,324,031)

65 years and over: 6.9% (male 120,176; female 145,194) (2005 est.)

• Median age:

Total: 27.34 years

Male: 26.28 years

Female: 28.43 years (2005 est.)

• Population growth rate:

1.26% (2005 est.)

• Birth rate:

18.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

• Death rate:

6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

• Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

• Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female

total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

• Infant mortality rate:

total: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 27.18 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 21.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

• Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.63 years

male: 70.17 years

female: 75.21 years (2005 est.)

• Total fertility rate:

1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.)

External links

• The Lebanese Christians: Unsuspecting Victims of a Sunni Shiite Cold War in Lebanon

References

1. Phoenicians Online Extra @ National Geographic Magazine
2. Lebanon - Sectarian and Clan Consciousness
3. Phoenicians Online Extra @ National Geographic Magazine
4. Lebanon - Lebanese Confessional Societies
5. "Iraqis In Lebanon". aina.org. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
6. The New York Times > International > Interactive Feature > Interactive Graphic: Attacks, Day by Day

• Demographics by country
• Demographics of Lebanon