Lebanon

Poverty in Lebanon

Poverty in Lebanon is mainly a function of geographical and socio-economic disparities, Initial attempts to measure post-war poverty in Lebanon began mainly in preparation for the Social Summit for Social Development (1994, Copenhagen), and suggested that the poorer categories of the Lebanese population are civil servants and farmers; and that rural poverty is a considerable especially in remote areas of the Baalbeck-Hermel and Akkar in Northern Lebanon and the recently liberated region of Southern Lebanon. According to the Living Conditions Index, 32.1 percent of households or 35.2 percent of the Population live below the satisfaction threshold. These are divided between households having a very low degree of satisfaction, including 7.1 percent of households (6.8 percent of individuals), and those having a low degree of satisfaction, including 25 percent of households (28.4 percent of individuals). Households having intermediate satisfaction represent the largest component, with 41.6 percent of households (42.2 percent of individuals), while households having a high degree of satisfaction account for 26.4 percent of the total (22.3 percent of individuals).