Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Danny Philip
Population
4,140,289
584,578
Life Expectancy
75.230 years
74.420 years
Capital City
Largest city
Beirut (population: 1,916,100)
Honiara (population: 56,298)
Human Development Index
0.796
0.591
GDP per capita
Literacy Rate
87.4%
%
Corruption Perception Index
3
2.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
4.7%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Najib Mikati ($2.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
Religions
Muslim 59.7% (Shia, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3% note: 17 religious sects recognized
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Languages
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
Exports
External Debt
Exchange Rate
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Area
10,400 km sq
28,896 km sq
Coastline
225 km
5,313 km
Climate
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
