-declared security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the
strategic town of Jazzin. Syria maintains about 30,000 troops in
Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and
the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by the Arab
League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the
continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the
Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in
the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops
from Lebanon.

@Lebanon:Geography

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
land: 10,230 sq km
water : 170 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; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal al Makmal 3,087 m

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

Land use:
arable land : 21%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 8%
other: 61% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1993 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution
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: 3,449,578 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14