Lebanon
Independent since 1943, Lebanon was born from a partitioning of the former League of Nations’ French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. Located on the easternmost shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon borders with Syria to the north and east, and with Israel to the south. The country has a population of 5 million and its official language is Arabic.
From an institutional point of view, Lebanon is based on a sectarian power-sharing agreement between the various religious communities in the country (Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Maronite Christians). The presence and activities, both political and military, of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah have had destabilising effects both at the international and domestic level. Since 1982, Italy has been present in southern Lebanon with the UNIFIL mission, of which it has held the command four times, and has developed important humanitarian initiatives for the stabilisation of the country.
On 4 August 2020, a powerful blast completely destroyed the port of Beirut and part of the city centre, killing over 200 people, injuring 7,000 and displacing 300,000. Immediately after the blast, Italy was one of the most active countries in providing help to the local population and sent two Air Force planes with eight tons of medical equipment and a team of experts. A few weeks later, this was followed by the arrival at Beirut’s port of a logistic naval unit carrying a fully equipped field hospital with specialized personnel and other assets.
Diplomatic relations between Italy and Lebanon have always been positive. From a commercial point of view, in 2021 the trade between the two countries reached $ 639 million.
On April 16, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon was renewed, reaffirming the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the education and training of the Lebanese population
The Med-Or Monthly Report for the month of April is now available online.
Israel and Lebanon signed a historic agreement for shared exploitation of offshore gas fields. An analysis by Gaja Pellegrini-Bettoli
| Head of state | Joseph Aoun |
| Head of Government | Nawaf Salam |
| Institutional Form | Unitary confessionalist parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Beirut |
| Legislative Power | Unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al Nuwab, 128 members) |
| Judicial Power | Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organised in 4 Houses, each one with a President and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Council (consisting of 10 members) |
| Ambassador to Italy | Mira Daher |
| Total Area kmq | 10,452 km2 |
| Land | 10.230 km2 |
| Weather | Moderate and Mediterranean climate in coastal areas; cool and rainy winters and humid and hot summer |
| Natural resources | Oil, natural gas, limestone, gypsum and salt |
| Economic summary | The economic system is free and ensures private initiative and the right to private property. Most of the economy is dollarized, and the country has no restrictions on the movement of capital across its borders. The Lebanese government's intervention in foreign trade is minimal. |
| GDP | $18.08 billion (Dec. 2021) |
| Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $4577 (Dec. 2021) |
| Exports | $4.24 billion (2020) |
| Export partner | Switzerland 26%, UAE 13.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, United States 4.29%, Qatar 3.81% (2020) |
| Imports | $12.9 billion (2020) |
| Import partner | Turkey 7.3%, China 7.1%, Germany 6.93%, United States 6.62%, Greece 6.16%, Italy 4.78%, Russia 4.61%, France 3.57% (2020) |
| Trade With Italy | $ 639,61 million (2021) |
| Population | 5.296.814 (2022 est.) |
| Population Growth | +0,66% (2022 est.) |
| Ethnicities | Arabic 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
| Languages | Arabic (official language), French, English, Armenian |
| Religions | Islam 67.8% (31.9% Sunni, 31.2% Shia, smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailites), Christians 32.4% (Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group), Druze 4.5%, a very small number of Jews, Baha'i, Buddhists and Hindus (2020) |
| Urbanization | 89,3% (2022 est.) |
| Literacy | 95.1% |
Independent since 1943, Lebanon was born from a partitioning of the former League of Nations’ French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. Located on the easternmost shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon borders with Syria to the north and east, and with Israel to the south. The country has a population of 5 million and its official language is Arabic.
From an institutional point of view, Lebanon is based on a sectarian power-sharing agreement between the various religious communities in the country (Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Maronite Christians). The presence and activities, both political and military, of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah have had destabilising effects both at the international and domestic level. Since 1982, Italy has been present in southern Lebanon with the UNIFIL mission, of which it has held the command four times, and has developed important humanitarian initiatives for the stabilisation of the country.
On 4 August 2020, a powerful blast completely destroyed the port of Beirut and part of the city centre, killing over 200 people, injuring 7,000 and displacing 300,000. Immediately after the blast, Italy was one of the most active countries in providing help to the local population and sent two Air Force planes with eight tons of medical equipment and a team of experts. A few weeks later, this was followed by the arrival at Beirut’s port of a logistic naval unit carrying a fully equipped field hospital with specialized personnel and other assets.
Diplomatic relations between Italy and Lebanon have always been positive. From a commercial point of view, in 2021 the trade between the two countries reached $ 639 million.
