LEBANON (AL BATRUN)



Missions Address:
International Baptist Outreach Missions, Inc.
P.O.Box 16576
Asheville, NC 28816
828-252-6750 Phone
828-259-9427 Fax
ibomissions@cleaninter.net
wkjvradio@ioa.com
www.wkjv.com

Missionaries/Directors
Dr. R.G. Smith
Jay Markey

Religion
Islam, 70%; Christian, 30% (17 recognized sects); Judaism, negl. (1 sect).

People/Language/Ethnicity
Languages: Arabic (official), French, English. Ethnicity/race: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%.

Overview
Area: 4,015 sq mi. Lebanon lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel and west of Syria. It is four-fifths the size of Connecticut. The Lebanon Mountains, which parallel the coast on the west, cover most of the country, while on the eastern border is the Anti-Lebanon range. Between the two lies the Bekaa Valley, the principal agricultural area.

Population (2003 est.): 3,727,703 (growth rate: 1.3%); Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Beirut, 1,916,100 (metro. area), 1,171,000 (city proper)

Economy
Per capita income $5,200. Real growth rate: 1%. Inflation: 0.5%. Unemployment: 18% (1997 est.). Arable land: 17.6%. Agriculture: citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats. Labor force: 1.5 million; note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.); services n.a., industry n.a., agriculture n.a. Industries: banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating. Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land.

Source and Copyright: InfoPlease, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001. The World Factbook 2002.