Lebanon
General presentation
Official name: Republic of Lebanon
Type of government: Parliamentary Republic
Area: 10,452km2
Capital: Beirut
Main cities: Tripoli, Saida, Tyre, Zahle
Official language(s): Arabic, special status of French
National holiday: November 22
Population: 6.8 million, including almost 1 million Syrian refugees
Literacy rate: 93.5
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
The country has been going through an acute economic and financial crisis since 2018, accentuated by the covid-19 pandemic since March 2020, by the double explosion on the port of Beirut that occurred on August 4 of the same year, and finally by the absence of any reform and adjustment that would allow for the beginning of a recovery. After averaging around 8% per year from 2008 to 2011 and slightly less than 2% on average between 2012 and 2017, the economy entered a recession in 2018 (-2%) which strengthened in 2019 (-6.5%) to reach -20.3% in 2020 and almost -10% in 2021, according to the latest estimates of the IMF and the WB. The combination of the recession and the depreciation of the Lebanese pound on the parallel market (the LBP/USD exchange rate on the parallel market having reached 28,000 in mid- December, while the official exchange rate is 1,507.5) is expected to continue this downward trend in 2022 (a further contraction in GDP is expected).
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
agriculture : 5% of the total
industry : 20% of the total
services : 75% of the total
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 51.48 | 54.18 | 56.71 | 59.73 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 11.52 | 12.01 | 12.45 | 12.99 |
| Growth rate | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.4 |
| Unemployment rate | ||||
| Inflation rate | -0.8 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 145.45 | 146.79 | 149.99 | 152.92 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -11.18 | -12.37 | -14.54 | -14.24 |
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -21.7 | -22.8 | -25.6 | -24.4 |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
2018: E AU 15.5%, A S 7.2%, S Africa 5.9%, Iraq 5%, Qatar 4.5%
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Main suppliers
2018: China 10.3%, Greece 8.5%, Italy 8%, USA 7.2%, Germany 5.8%
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process