Economy of Lebanon

Economy of Lebanon
	Beirut Central District
Currency	Lebanese Pound (LBP)
Fiscal year	Calendar
Trade organisations	CAEU
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Lower-middle income economy;
Statistics
Population	6,825,232 (20 April 2020)
GDP	$21,7 billion (nominal; 2022 est.) at official cash withdrawal ratio 1500/3900; $74.110 billion (PPP; 2020 est.);
GDP per capita	$4,000 (nominal, 2020.); $20,429 (PPP, 2020.);
GDP by sector	agriculture: 3.9%; industry: 13.1%; services: 83%; (2017 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	210% (2022 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.4% (2012); 63% on less than $5.50/day (2011);
Gini coefficient	31.8 medium (2011)
Human Development Index	0.706 high (2021) (112th); N/A IHDI (2021);
Labour force	2,399,073 (2019); in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers; 39.5% employment rate (2007);
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 11.94%; industry: 22.3%; services: 65.76% (2019);
Unemployment	6.2% (2019)
Main industries	banking, tourism, real estate and construction, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating
External
Exports	$4.79 billion (2021)
Export goods	jewelry, base metals, chemicals, consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper
Main export partners	European Union 14.35%; United Arab Emirates 21%; Switzerland 9.41%; Cameroon 5.91%; Egypt 5.87%; Qatar 4.34%; United States 3.83%; Saudi Arabia 2.96%; Iraq 2.61%; Turkey 2.33% (2021);
Imports	$16.3 billion (2021)
Import goods	petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals
Main import partners	European Union 38.67%; Turkey 10.5%; China 9.42%; UAE 5.78%; United States 5.03%; Russia 3.5%; Egypt 2.49%; Switzerland 2.42%; Ukraine 2.41%; India 1.81% (2021);
FDI stock	$61.02 billion (2016); Abroad: $13.46 billion (2016);
Current account	−$12.37 billion (2017 est.)
Gross external debt	$33.1 billion (December 2018)
Public finances
Government debt	US$74.5 billion (Sep 2018),; 140% of GDP (2018)
Foreign reserves	$55.42 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Budget balance	−6.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Revenues	11.62 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses	15.38 billion (2017 est.)
Economic aid	recipient $5.4 billion (2014 est.)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:; B-; Outlook: Negative; Moody's:; C; Outlook: Not assigned; Fitch:; CCC; Outlook: N/A;
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Lebanon has been experiencing a large-scale multi-dimensional crisis since 2019, including a banking collapse, the Lebanese liquidity crisis and a sovereign default. It is classified as a developing, lower-middle income economy. The nominal GDP was estimated at $19 billion in 2020, with a per capita GDP amounting to $2,500. In 2018 government spending amounted to $15.9 billion, or 83% of GDP.

The Lebanese economy went through a significant expansion after the 34-day war of 2006, with growth averaging 9.1% between 2007 and 2010. After 2011 the local economy was affected by the Syrian civil war, growing by a yearly average of 1.7% on the 2011–2016 period and by 1.5% in 2017. In 2018, the size of the GDP was estimated to be $54.1 billion. Between 2019 and 2021, the economy shrank by 53.4%, the highest contraction in a list of 193 countries. Since 2020, the International Monetary Fund no longer publishes data on the Lebanese economy.

Lebanon is the third-highest indebted country in the world in terms of debt-to-GDP ratio. As a consequence, interest payments consumed 48% of domestic government revenues in 2016, thus limiting the government's ability to make needed investments in infrastructure and other public goods.

The Lebanese economy is service-oriented. Lebanon has a strong tradition of laissez-faire, with the country's constitution stating that "the economic system is free and ensures private initiative and the right to private property". The major economic sectors include metal products, banking, agriculture, chemicals, and transport equipment. The main growth sectors include banking and tourism. There are no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital movement.