I. Characteristics of the Deprived: General Conclusions {short description of image}{short description of image}
The Population and Housing Survey questionnaire does not include information concerning all the basic needs, especially in the fields of health and household income and expenditure. However, based on the 11 indicators and four fields examined, it appears that the deprived households and individuals suffer in the first place from the low level of income, followed by low indicators of education. These two fields take priority over those of housing and of water and sewerage. This suggests that programs to support incomes, directly and indirectly, should be given priority including: improving wages, providing more productive employment opportunities through the establishment of modern employment outlets and strengthening vocational training and rehabilitation, and reducing the cost of commodities and services that enter into the formation of the basic needs basket, especially education and health services.

The share of public schools in the total student population in Lebanon is about 30 percent . With respect to health care, citizens incur around 62 percent of the total health care bill ; and health coverage, according to the Lebanon Maternal and Child Health Survey, benefits 39.5 percent of citizens, and 50 percent according to other estimates.

Housing presents an acute problem for newly formed households as a result of the interaction of several factors including the price of land and construction material; stagnation of the rent market; and over-crowdedness in the capital and its suburbs, where demand for housing is most acute due to the concentration of work opportunities and study facilities.

As for water and sewerage, the problem varies depending on the region and the adequacy of the infrastructure. The priority in this field, however, is for rehabilitation and for increasing the hours of water supply and quality control, especially of potable water.

1. Geographical distribution
The regions suffering most from deprivation, in terms of the ratio of the deprived to total resident population, are mostly rural kadas. These kadas are also the most deprived based on the place of registration of the head of the household in the civil register. The deprived, however, are concentrated in urban areas, in particular in the capital and its suburbs, and in the centers of kadas. They are largely of rural origins and have moved to cities and urban centers in search of better jobs and incomes. The reasons for displacement include economic and social pressures (Baalbeck and Akkar...), the Israeli occupation and aggression (Bent-Jbeil, Marjaayoun, Nabatieh) and forced displacement (some kadas of Mount Lebanon).

While the number of the deprived living in rural areas is smaller than that in the cities, deprivation is more acute in the former. In rural areas, the proportion of households classified as having a very low degree of satisfaction is more important than in the cities, where the number of the deprived is larger but deprivation is relatively less acute.

In the capital and in Mount Lebanon, the proportion of households that are classified as having a high degree of satisfaction is more important than that of households that fall below the threshold. The reverse situation prevails in the mohafazats of the North, the Bekaa, the South and Nabatieh, implying the persistence of significant differences in the nature of social structure between Lebanon "the center", and Lebanon "the periphery".

As to the regional origins of the deprived, it emerges that the majority of the kadas (which have a rural character) are exporters of deprived households, whereas the receiving kadas are few in number and comprise, in particular, the two kadas of Baabda and El-Metn, which include the suburbs of the capital, in addition to Beirut itself and Tripoli.

2. Some demographic and educational characteristics
The structure of the deprived population differs from that of the total population in general, as the deprived categories include in their ranks a higher proportion of children and old people relative to the population of working age.

Concerning education, children coming from deprived households generally attend public schools and free private schools, in particular schools set up by religious bodies and charitable organizations. These children are exposed to the possibility of delay, failure and dropout. This reduces their chances of reaching secondary and university levels, compared with the children of well-to-do households, who attend private schools. Furthermore, many of the deprived who are enrolled at public and free private schools suffer from the low quality of education and poor preparation to enable them to obtain productive work.

3. Characteristics relating to housing, services and car-ownership

The majority of households own the dwelling they inhabit, which is often an independent and modest one. Most of them live in small units having an area of less than 80 square meters and less than 3 rooms.

For heating, the majority of deprived households utilize fuel oil, gas or kerosene and, to a lesser degree, charcoal and wood; or they have means of heating. In contrast, the well-to-do households rely on electrical appliances or central heating.

As for water, about three quarters of the dwellings pertaining to deprived households are connected to the public water network, which is the main source of potable water (not sterilized) for 60 percent of them, while 12.5 percent are not. However, the majority of households that lack these services are deprived households.

With respect to sewerage, 48.6 percent of deprived households rely on septic tanks, while another 46 percent make use of the public sewerage system.

Finally, 71.2 percent of deprived households do not own a car, while 28.1 percent own a single car.

4. Occupation and relation to the labor force

The bulk of the deprived are wage earners and/or self-employed. The majority of the heads of deprived households are engaged in the following sectors: agriculture and fishing; industry, mining and petroleum; retail trade, repair and maintenance; construction and building; transport, postal services and telecommunication; and public administration.

The deprived are to be found in the following occupations: farmers and skilled workers engaged in agriculture; operators and drivers of heavy vehicles, equipment and cranes; unskilled workers and employees engaged in selling and services; vendors and assistant vendors; agricultural workers and fishermen; and unskilled workers in mines, construction, stone crushing, public works, industry and transport.