Demographics of Lebanon Indicator Rank Measure Economy GDP (PPP) per capita 66th $19,500 Unemployment rate ↓ 21st 20.89%* CO2 emissions 78th 3.05t† Electricity consumption 77th 49.72GWh Economic Freedom 95th 2.98 Politics Human Development Index 80th 0.757 Political freedom Partly 4 Corruption (A higher score means less (perceived) corruption.) ↓ 134th 2.5 Press freedom 45th 74.00 Society Literacy Rate 43rd 96.7% Number of Internet users 59th 4,545,007 users E-readiness 14th 7.16± Ease of Doing Business 24th Unknown Health Life Expectancy 59th 77.0 Birth rate 113th 15.6‡ Fertility rate 157th 1.77†† Infant mortality 127th 14.39‡‡ Death rate 157th 7.5‡ HIV/AIDS rate 127th 0.10% Notes * including several non-sovereign entities ↓ indicates rank is in reverse order (e.g. 1st is lowest)† per capita ± score out of 10‡ per 1000 people†† per woman‡‡ per 1000 live births
This is a demography of the population of Lebanon including population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
About 95% of the population of Lebanon is either Muslim or Christian, split across various sects and denominations. The only national census ever published was conducted in 1932 under the French Mandate, before the founding of the modern Lebanese state. The 1932 census identified, organized, and enumerated sects and determined the nascent body of citizens, which were recorded, managed, and produced through the national registries also forged at that time. Consequently, there is an absence of accurate data on the relative percentages of the population of the major religions and groups. The system of census taking under the French Mandate, based on the legal categories of sex, sect, and kinship, remains largely in place today. The 1932 census did not simply measure sectarian identities but helped institutionalize them as political categories. Because sectarian political representation in Lebanon depends on demographic ratios, scholars have highlighted that conducting a new census could destabilize the political system, as updated statistics could challenge existing power-sharing arrangements. Therefore, religious affiliation in Lebanon is not only a matter of personal belief but also a legal category recorded in state registries and linked to personal status law, also family law, including marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
The absence of data and comprehensive statistics also concerns all other demographic studies unrelated to religious balance, due to the all but total inactivity of the concerned public agencies. The only recent (post-war) statistics available are estimates based on studies made by private organizations.
The biggest study made after the independence on the Lebanese Population was made by the Central Administration of Statistics (in French: "Administration Centrale de la Statistique") under the direction of Robert Kasparian and Grégoire Haddad's Social Movement: "L'enquête par sondage sur la population active au Liban en 1970" (in English: "The survey on the active population in Lebanon in 1970"). It was conducted on a sample of 130,000 individuals.
There are between 10 and 15 million Lebanese and descendants of Lebanese worldwide, mostly Christians, compared with the internal population of Lebanon of around 4.6 million citizens, in 2020.Lebanese Living in UAE Fear Deportation Al-Monitor, accessed December 2, 2013
Ethnic groups
Ethnic identity revolves increasingly around aspects of cultural self-identification more than descent. To an extent, religious affiliation has also become a substitute in some respects for ethnic affiliation. Generally, the cultural and linguistic heritage of the People of Lebanon is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. Moreover, in a 2013 interview, the lead investigator, Pierre Zalloua, pointed out that genetic variation preceded religious variation and divisions: "Lebanon already had well-differentiated communities with their own genetic peculiarities, but not significant differences, and religions came as layers of paint on top. There is no distinct pattern that shows that one community carries significantly more Phoenician than another".
Religious groups
Statistics quoted in 2023 indicate that 32.2% are Shia, 31.2% are Sunni, 16.0% are Maronite, 7.6% are Greek Orthodox, 5.5% are Druze, 0.6% are Alawites and Ismailis combined, with the rest belonging to other Christian and Muslim sects.
The sectarian system
Lebanon's religious divisions are complex, and the country is made up by a multitude of religious groupings. While rivalries among local elites existed earlier, the political order in Mount Lebanon before the mid-19th century was largely structured through hierarchical patronage networks rather than sectarian ideology. Scholars argue that modern sectarianism emerged in the mid-19th century at the intersection of the Egyptian occupation (1831–1840), the decline of the Shihab emirate, the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms, and increased European intervention.
The pattern of settlement has changed little since the 7th century, but instances of civil strife and ethnic cleansing, most recently during the Lebanese Civil War, has brought some important changes to the religious map of the country. (See also History of Lebanon.)
Lebanon has by far the largest proportion of Christians of any Middle Eastern country, but both Christians and Muslims are sub-divided into many splinter sects and denominations. Population statistics are highly controversial. The various denominations and sects each have vested interests in inflating their own numbers. Shias, Sunnis, Maronites and Eastern Orthodox (the four largest denominations) all often claim that their particular religious affiliation holds a majority in the country, adding up to over 150% of the total population, even before counting the other denominations. One of the rare things that most Lebanese religious leaders will agree on is to avoid a new general census, for fear that it could trigger a new round of denominational conflict. The last official census was performed in 1932.
Religion has traditionally been of overriding importance in defining the Lebanese population. Dividing state power between the religious denominations and sects, and granting religious authorities judicial power, dates back to Ottoman times (the millet system). The practice was reinforced during French mandate, when Christian groups were granted privileges. This system of government, while partly intended as a compromise between sectarian demands, has caused tensions that still dominate Lebanese politics to this day.
The Christian population majority is believed to have ended in the early 1970s, but government leaders would agree to no change in the political power balance. This led to Muslim demands for increased representation, and the constant sectarian tension slid into violent conflict in 1958 (prompting U.S. intervention) and again in the grueling Lebanese Civil War, in 1975–90.
The balance of power has been slightly adjusted in the 1943 National Pact, an informal agreement struck at independence, in which positions of power were divided according to the 1932 census. The Sunni elite was then accorded more power, but Maronites continued to dominate the system. The sectarian balance was again adjusted towards the Muslim side but simultaneously further reinforced and legitimized. Shia Muslims (by now the second largest sect) then gained additional representation in the state apparatus, and the obligatory Christian-Muslim representation in Parliament was downgraded from a 6:5 to a 1:1 ratio. Christians of various denominations were then generally thought to constitute about 40% of the population, although often Muslim leaders would cite lower numbers, and some Christians would claim that they still held a majority of the population.
18 recognized religious groups
The present Lebanese Constitution officially acknowledges 18 religious groups (see below). These have the right to handle family law according to their courts and traditions, and they are the basic players in Lebanon's complex sectarian politics.
Alawite Armenian Catholic Armenian Orthodox Assyrian Church of the East Chaldean Catholic Copts Druze Greek Orthodox Isma'ili Jewish Latin Catholic Maronite Catholic Melkite Greek Catholic Protestant Sunni Shia Syriac Catholic Church Syriac Orthodox Church
Religious population statistics
The 1932 census stated that Christians made up 50% of the resident population. Maronites, the largest among the Christian denomination and then largely in control of the state apparatus, accounted for 29% of the total resident population.
The total population of Lebanon was reported to be 1,411,000 in 1956. The largest communities were Maronites (424,000), Sunni Muslims (286,000), Shiite Muslims (250,000), Greek Orthodox (149,000), Greek Catholics (91,000), Druzes (88,000), Armenian Orthodox (64,000), Armenian Catholics (15,000), Protestants (14,000), Jews (7,000), Syriac Catholics (6,000), Syriac Orthodox (5,000), Latins (4,000) and Assyrians of the Church of the East (1,000).
A 2010 study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, cited by the United States Department of State found that Lebanon's population of approximately 4.3 million was estimated to be:
40.5% Christian (21% Maronite, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Melkite Catholic, 6.5% belonging to smaller Christian groups (Protestant, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Roman Catholic, Chaldean Catholic, Assyrian Church of the East, and Copt) At least 54% Islam (27% Shia, 27% Sunni, Alawites, Ismaili) 5.6% Druze (included with the Muslim group in the Lebanese constitution)
There is also a very small number of other religious minorities such as, Baháʼís, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Mormons.
In 2023, the United States Department of State cited study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, estimating Lebanon's population to be 69.3% Muslim (32.2% Shia; 31.2% Sunni; 5.5% Druze; 0.6% Alawites and Ismailis combined) and 30.5% Christian. 52.5% of Christians are Maronite and 25% Greek Orthodox, and other Christian groups include Greek Catholics (Melkites), Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholics, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholics, Assyrians, Chaldean Catholics, Copts, Protestants (including Presbyterians, Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists), Roman (Latin) Catholics, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ.
+ Census of 1932Rania Maktabi, The Lebanese Census of 1932 Revisited. Who Are the Lebanese?, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Nov., 1999), pp. 219-241, also at , at at and at ResidentsEmigrants before 30/08/1924Emigrants after 30/08/1924paying taxesdoes not paypaying taxesdoes not paySunni178,1002,6539,8401,0893,623Shi'i155,0352,9774,5431,7702,220Druze53,3342,0673,2051,1832,295Maronite227,80031,69758,45711,43421,809Greek Catholic46,7097,19016,5441,8554,038Greek Orthodox77,31212,54731,5213,9229,041Protestant6,8696071,575174575Armenian Orthodox26,1021601911,718Armenian Catholic5,89095020375Syriac Orthodox2,723634354Syriac Catholic2,80391966101Jews3,58862147188Chaldean Orthodox1900000Chaldean Catholic54806019Miscellaneous6,39321275859234Total793,39659,981127,00321,71346,290Foreigners61,297
Muslims
According to a Statistics Lebanon study quoted by the US State Department, the Muslim population was estimated at 69.3% within Lebanese territory. Other sources put Muslims at 20% of the over 4 million Lebanese diaspora population. In 2012 a more detailed breakdown of the size of each Muslim sect in Lebanon was made: