38. CIA Factbook on Lebanon: Economy
Description
This article is from the Lebanon FAQ, by Alaa Dakroub dakroub@leb.net with numerous contributions by others.
38. CIA Factbook on Lebanon: Economy
Overview: Since 1975 civil war has 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. Following October 1990,
however, a tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin
restoring control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port and
government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up by a
financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale
manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and farm
exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are the main
sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991,
industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed substantial
gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992
because of an upturn in political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was
appointed Prime Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, has announced
ambitious plans for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial
influx of foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is
limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most significant
improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which had gained
over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The year 1993 was marked by efforts of the
new administration to encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain
additional international assistance.
National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $6.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.2% (1992)
National product per capita: $1,720 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 35% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues $990 million
expenditures $1.98 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports: $925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and
semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
partners Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%
Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities Consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum
products partners Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt: $700 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 25% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity 1,300,000 kW
production 3.413 billion kWh
consumption per capita 990 kWh (1992)
Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining,
chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture: accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus
fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats;
not self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the international
drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle East,
and North and South America; increasingly a key locus of cocaine processing
and trafficking
Economic aid: aid for Lebanon's reconstruction programs currently totals
$1.3 billion since October 1992, including a $175 million loan from the
World Bank
Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (£L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (£L) per US$1 - 1,713.00
(December 1993), 2,200.00 (1992), 928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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