Lebanon: Introductory country profile

The World Bank says Lebanon is experiencing one of the world’s worst economic crises, with substantial inflation rates and declining currency.

This has worsened conditions for the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees Lebanon hosts.

The UK provides both humanitarian and military aid the country: This includes support to Lebanon’s armed forces to counter the influence of Hezbollah, which is an armed group linked to Iran, and provide security against Islamic State/Daesh.

What does this paper cover?

This 16 page briefing provides an introduction to Lebanon’s:

• Leadership, politics, and political rights, including the 2022 elections and ongoing political vacuum. Both the presidency and office of prime minister are currently held in a caretaker capacity. 
• Economy, including World Bank analysis of the causes of the country’s substantial economic crisis and its impacts on poverty and refugees. 
• Human rights, including the rights of women and migrant workers.
• Trade with the UK
• Armed Forces, specifically foreign support to strengthen them as a counter to the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group. 
• Foreign relations, including with neighbouring Israel and Syria and Arab Gulf states.

This briefing signposts further reading on these topics on pages 14 to 16. This includes links to relevant Library briefing papers and UK Parliament proceedings.

Please visit the Library’s Middle East pages for further analysis on the region’s politics.