B. The War and Living Conditions {short description of image}{short description of image}
The acts of violence, which broke out in 1975 and continued virtually uninterrupted for 15 years, attained the majority of cities, towns and villages and affected all productive sectors. They resulted in the gross domestic product dropping to 40 percent of the level it would have attained had there been no war . They also inflicted heavy losses on the infrastructure and production facilities in excess of $25 billion ; destroyed hundreds of production units; reduced productivity; prevented the economy from keeping abreast with managerial and technological developments; and disrupted the regional functions of the Lebanese economy. The war also resulted in the death of more than 65,000 people, 84,000 wounded, tens of thousands of handicapped and accentuated emigration abroad and forced internal displacement.

Rampant inflation has been among the most serious of the war consequences related to the spread of poverty. The rate of inflation remained relatively moderate (less than 20 percent per annum) during the first phase of the war, helped by the inflow of funds from abroad to finance the parties to the war in Lebanon. It attained record levels in the phase which followed the Israeli invasion in 1982, especially between 1986 and 1992 when the annual rate remained generally above 100 percent . The fragmentation of the internal market, difficulties of exporting, dislocation of the labor market, emigration of talents, and the squandering of state resources and reduction in its welfare functions were the main factors behind these developments.

The most serious and far-reaching consequences of the war are perhaps the forced displacement of some 800,000 citizens , and the destruction or damage caused to a huge number of housing units (around 170,000) ; the breaking up of families and segregation of their members; the death or kidnapping of some family members, (mostly active male members); and the deterioration in their education and health care standards. It is thus possible to consider that a very high proportion of the displaced consists of individuals having low, or very low, income relative to income levels prevailing at the time.