Lebanese Argentines
Argentines of Lebanese descent in the city of Buenos Aires on Immigrant Day | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 3,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Throughout Argentina | |
| Languages | |
| Rioplatense Spanish, Arabic (Lebanese Arabic) | |
| Religion | |
| Maronite Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Melkite, with Shia Islam, Sunni Islam and Judaism minorities | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lebanese people, other Asian Argentines and Arab Argentines |
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Lebanese people |
|---|
| Lebanon portal |
Lebanese Argentine refers to Argentine citizens of Lebanese descent or Lebanon-born people who reside in Argentina. Many of the Lebanese Argentines are descendants of immigrants cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating from what is now Lebanon.
Although a highly diverse group of Argentines — in ancestral origins, religion and historic identities — Lebanese Argentines hold a heritage that shares common linguistic, cultural and political traditions. They are closed related to the Syrian community and together are known as the sirio-libaneses (Syrian-Lebanese).
The overwhelming majority of the 3,000,000 Lebanese Argentines are Maronites and Greek Catholics, with Muslims and Jews being a small minority in comparison to them. The interethnic marriage in the Lebanese community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Lebanese ethnicity. As a result of this, the Lebanese community in Argentina shows marked language shift away from the Arabic and French languages. As a result, only a few speak any Arabic and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead, the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish as a first language.
The father of former First Lady Juliana Awada, Ibrahim Awada, was a Lebanese born in Baalbek and prominent businessman.