The
Kada of Akkar has the largest share of individuals who live below the
threshold of the index of satisfaction of basic needs. The kada includes
about 50,000 individuals whose degree of satisfaction of basic needs is
considered to be very low, representing 23.7 percent of the total of
this category in Lebanon; and 86,000 individuals whose degree of
satisfaction is considered to be low (9.8 percent of the total in the
category). In other words, this kada, with 6.4 percent of the total
population, accounts for 12.5 percent of all those living below the
threshold. But whereas Akkar is the leading rural kada in Lebanon, with
an urban population ratio of 22.8 percent only, the next kadas in terms
of deprivation are predominantly urban: Baabda, which includes Beirut's
southern suburb (11.8 percent); Tripoli (8.2 percent); Baalbeck (7.6
percent); Beirut (7.2 percent); and El-Metn, which includes the northern
suburb of Beirut (6.3 percent). Thus, the leading 8 kadas in terms of
deprivation account for 64.4 percent of all those living below the
threshold in Lebanon. These figures draw attention to the fact that,
with the exception of Akkar, deprivation is concentrated in urban areas.
The cities and/or kadas that include major urban centers (Beirut and its
suburbs, Tripoli, Baalbeck, Tyre, Saida, Zahle, Nabatieh) account for
57.4 percent of individuals that live below the threshold. This reflects
the concentration of the population in cities, and the constant
displacement from the country side towards the cities and suburbs.
Given their small population some of the most deprived kadas, notably
Bent-Jbeil and Hermel, which rank as first and second on the scale of
deprivation account for a small percentage only (3.4 percent and 2.5
percent, respectively) of the total of deprived individuals at the
national level. These two kadas occupy, respectively, the 12th and 14th
position on the scale that ranks kadas in descending order of the actual
number of deprived individuals residing in them.
Another difference between the predominantly urban and the predominantly
rural kadas concerns the relative importance of the category having a
very low degree of satisfaction. The number of individuals in this
category is less than the number of individuals in the low satisfaction
category. However, the relative importance of this category in the rural
kadas is greater than in the kadas with an urban character (Table 34).
This difference points to the varying nature of deprivation. Thus, in
the capital and its urban suburbs, the number of deprived households is
larger, but deprivation is less acute relative to the situation in the
other regions, especially the remote rural areas. Some cities, such as
Tripoli, Baalbeck and Tyre, occupy an intermediate position with respect
to the balance between the very low and low satisfaction categories.
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