Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity
Lebanon People
Population: 3,627,774 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.57% (male 509,975; female 490,031)
15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,136,995; female 1,247,184)
65 years and over: 6.71% (male 110,964; female 132,625) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.38% (2001 est.)