lling for Syria
to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese
affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's
presence in Lebanon.

Geography Lebanon

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
Syria

Geographic coordinates:
33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 10,400 sq km
water: 170 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline:
225 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain:
narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources:
limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98%
other: 69.4% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,200 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
dust storms, sandstorms

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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life
Conservation

Geography - note:
Nahr el 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

People Lebanon

Population:
3,777,218 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 517,356; female 496,888)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,197,430; female 1,305,339)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 117,930; female 142,275) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.9 years
male: 25.9 years
female: 27.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.3% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
19.31 births/1,000 populatio