Lebanon lives in the shadow of its powerful neighbors, Syria and Israel. The coastal strip is fertile and the hinterland mountainous. The minority Maronite Christians have traditionally dominated the government. Civil war between Muslim and Christian factions from 1975, complicated by an Israeli invasion in 1982, threatened a breakup of the state, until Saudi Arabia brokered a peace deal in 1989. Greater political stability and reconstruction have ensued.

The Lebanese population is fragmented in religious terms into subsects of Christians and Muslims, but retains a strong sense of national identity. There has been a large Palestinian refugee population in the country since 1948. Islamic fundamentalism is influential among poorer Shi'a Muslims, who constitute the largest single group.

Strengths

Peace will allow Lebanon to regain its position as an Arab center for banking and services. Potentially a major producer of wine and fruit. Tight fiscal policy has kept inflation down.

Weaknesses

Dependent on imported oil and gas. Agriculture still at 40% of prewar levels. High public debt. Alleged Syrian "dumping" of cheap produce.

The Arab-brokered 1989 Taif peace agreement ending the civil war redressed the constitutional balance between Christians and Muslims and guaranteed power-sharing. Relative stability has been maintained under Rafiq al-Hariri, who won the first postwar legislative elections in 1992. After a brief term as premier by Salim al-Hoss, Hariri was elected to a third term in 2000. Gen. Émile Lahoud was elected president in 1998. Syria remains the main power broker in Lebanon, especially following the withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2000.

The 1989 Taif Agreement ending the civil war has left Syria with enormous influence in domestic politics. Anti-Israeli rhetoric remains the political lingua franca. The Hezbollah militia fought frequent and bloody skirmishes with Israeli occupying forces (and their proxy militias) until the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, and both sides continue to exchange fire across the border despite the presence of a UN patrol force.

The army has over 70,000 troops. Hezbollah guerrillas rapidly regained control of southern Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000. There is a UN peacekeeping force on the Israeli border. Syrian forces, whose dominant security role had been formalized in 1991, withdrew from Beirut in 2001.

Wine, cotton, fruit, and vegetables are the main crops. Power plants are fueled by imported petroleum.

A lack of central authority during the civil war allowed unregulated logging, quarrying, and urban development to flourish.

The redevelopment of Beirut could see it regain its position as one of the Middle East's major entrepôts.

An adequate system of primary health care exists. Hospital staffing is returning to prewar levels.

Lebanon has one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world. Education was severely disrupted by the war.

The kidnapping of hostages and the breakdown of law during the civil war made Beirut a dangerous city for visitors.

Politically motivated violence has recently declined, though the risk of urban terrorism remains. Rural areas untouched by the conflict have low levels of crime.

Average income per capita statistics conceal the fact that a huge gulf exists between the poor and a small, massively rich elite.

Tourists have gradually returned since the devastation of the civil war. Beirut remains the main destination, its battle scars even adding to its attraction. In 1998 the USA lifted its restrictions on travel by US citizens to Lebanon.

Under French mandate from 1920, Lebanon declared independence in 1941, achieving full autonomy in 1946.

• 1975 Civil war erupts.
• 1982 Israeli invasion.
• 1989 Taif Agreement ends civil war.
• 1992 First election in 20 years. Rafiq al-Hariri prime minister.
• 1996 Israeli attack kills over 100 civilians at UN base in Qana.
• 1998 Émile Lahoud president.
• 2000 Israeli forces withdraw. Hariri reelected by a landslide.