The
population of Lebanon is unevenly distributed among the six
administrative mohafazats (governorates) that form the Lebanese
Republic. About 50 percent of the total population live in the two
mohafazats of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (especially in the Greater Beirut
area); whereas the share of the Mohafazat of North Lebanon is 21.6
percent, the Bekaa 12.9 percent, the South 9.1 percent, and Nabatieh 6.6
percent (Table 22).
|
| Table
22. Distribution of households and resident population by mohafazats |
| Mohafazat
|
Households
|
Individuals |
| Number
|
Percent |
Number
|
Percent |
| Beirut |
99123 |
14.8 |
407403 |
13.1 |
| Mount Lebanon |
261537 |
39.1 |
1145458 |
36.8 |
| North Lebanon |
126815 |
19.0 |
670609 |
21.6 |
| South Lebanon |
57992 |
8.7 |
283057 |
9.1 |
| Bekaa |
79195 |
11.8 |
399890 |
12.9 |
| Nabatieh |
44244 |
6.6 |
205411 |
6.6 |
| All Lebanon |
668906 |
100 |
3111828 |
100 |
|
By studying the distribution of
resident households according to the degrees of satisfaction as measured
by the living conditions index within each mohafazat (and subsequently
within the kada), it is possible to get acquainted with the approximate
form of the social structure for each mohafazat (kada), and to identify
its overall features as a geographic region. This should help
development planners to design regional development policies and
programs that respond to actual needs. It should also help the local
authorities, and civil society and private sector institutions, to
design programs and services of a local character.
The distribution of resident households according to the living
conditions index shows the Mohafazat of Nabatieh in the first place with
respect to the importance of households that live below the threshold,
followed by the Mohafazat of the North. The Mohafazat of Beirut comes at
the end of the scale, implying that it enjoys a higher level of
satisfaction of needs.
|
Table
23. Distribution of resident households according to the living
conditions index and by mohafazat: 5-level classification
(As
percent of total households in the mohafazat) |
| Mohafazat |
Very low
|
Low |
Intermediate |
High |
Very high
|
Total |
| Nabatieh |
13.3 |
37.6 |
39.8 |
8.7 |
0.5 |
100 |
| North Lebanon |
12.0 |
31.8 |
37.6 |
15.9 |
2.7 |
100 |
| Bekaa |
9.9 |
30.7 |
43.5 |
14.6 |
1.3 |
100 |
| South Lebanon |
7.4 |
29.6 |
44.7 |
16.2 |
2.2 |
100 |
| Mount Lebanon |
4.4 |
20.3 |
43.6 |
26.1 |
5.5 |
100 |
| Beirut |
2.6 |
15.7 |
38.7 |
33.2 |
9.8 |
100 |
| All Lebanon |
7.1 |
25.0 |
41.6 |
21.9 |
4.5 |
100 |
|
To facilitate analysis and
comparison, Table 24 provides a ranking of the mohafazats in descending
order of the percentage of households and individuals that live below
the threshold, based on the 3-level classification.
|
Table
24. Distribution of resident households and individuals according to the
living conditions index and by mohafazat: 3-level classification
(As percent of total households and individuals in the mohafazat) |
| Mohafazat
|
Low |
Intermediate
|
High |
|
| House-holds
|
Indivi-
duals |
House-holds
|
Indivi-
duals |
House-holds
|
Indivi-duals
|
Total |
| Nabatieh
|
51.0 |
51.4 |
39.8 |
40.8 |
9.3 |
7.8 |
100 |
| North Lebanon
|
43.8 |
48.9 |
37.6 |
36.1 |
18.7 |
15.0 |
100 |
| Bekaa |
40.6 |
43.8 |
43.5 |
43.3 |
15.9 |
13.0 |
100 |
| South Lebanon
|
36.9 |
39.0 |
44.7 |
45.1 |
18.4 |
15.9 |
100 |
| Mount Lebanon
|
24.7 |
26.0 |
43.6 |
45.2 |
31.7 |
28.8 |
100 |
| Beirut |
18.4 |
19.2 |
38.7 |
41.2 |
43.0 |
39.6 |
100 |
| All
Lebanon |
32.1 |
35.2 |
41.6 |
42.2 |
26.4 |
22.6 |
100 |
|
Table 24 shows that the Mohafazat
of Nabatieh has the lowest standing with respect to the satisfaction of
needs, with about 51 percent of households and individuals living below
the threshold of the living conditions index. It is also the mohafazat
that includes the lowest ratio of households and individuals with a high
degree of satisfaction (9.8 percent of households and 7.8 percent of
individuals). The Mohafazat of the North comes in second place with 43.8
percent of its households, and 48.9 of individuals, living below the
threshold; followed by the mohafazats of Bekaa (40.6 percent of
households and 43.8 percent of individuals), the South (36.9 percent of
households and 39 percent of individuals), Mount Lebanon (24.7 percent
of households and 26 percent of individuals), and finally Beirut (18.4
percent of households and 19.2 percent of individuals).
This
distribution reveals a difference in kind between the four mohafazats of
the South, North, Bekaa and Nabatieh, on the one hand, and those of
Beirut and Mount Lebanon, on the other. In the first group, the social
structure is characterized by the larger number of households having a
low degree of satisfaction relative to those with a high degree of
satisfaction. The difference is twice as much, as in the case of the
Mohafazat of South Lebanon, and five and a half times as much as in the
Mohafazat of Nabatieh. The reverse situation prevails in the mohafazats
of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, where households with a high degree of
satisfaction are more numerous than those having a low degree of
satisfaction, being 1.3 times larger in the case of Mount Lebanon and
2.3 times in Beirut.
Chart 8 depicts the distribution of households in the mohafazats of
Beirut and Nabatieh. The chart clearly shows the large magnitude of
households that live below the threshold in the Mohafazat of Nabatieh,
and the inverse situation (households having a high degree of
satisfaction) in Beirut.
|
Chart
8. Distribution of households according to the living conditions ndex in
the mohafazats of Beirut and Nabatieh
(Percent)
|
 |
