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
Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%
Languages
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Exports
machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals
External Debt
$1,016,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Swedish kronor (SEK) per US dollar - 6.4074 (2008 est.), 6.7629 (2007), 7.3731 (2006), 7.4731 (2005), 7.3489 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
5
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Area
10,400 km sq
450,295 km sq
Coastline
225 km
3,218 km
Climate
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north