All About

Lebanon
B Y: 7 D
 Facts

What We Will
Learn Access to healthcare + education

The Government
Brief Information About Lebanon

• The Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon lies on

the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
Lebanon has a large population for its small
area. Problems between its Muslim and
Christian people led to a long civil war that
lasted from 1975 to 1991. Lebanon’s capital
and largest city is Beirut.
Access to healthcare and
education
Healthcare is increasingly becoming scarce: Lebanon is a smaller country with a population of 3.7
million. Most live in the capital city of Beirut. Pricing is a major issue in the country’s healthcare
system. The high prices have left about 50 percent of the nation uninsured from any type of health
coverage. Syrian refugees have put a strain on resources: Currently, 1.5 million Syrian refugees
have entered Lebanon. These refugees find themselves sitting in refugee camps where health
hazards are a daily occurrence. The influx of people has affected the already crippling inability to
access healthcare in Lebanon, affecting both citizens and refugees. Government-funded efforts
barely help: The Lebanese government has tried to implement new ways for citizens to have access
to healthcare. The National Social Security Fund was created to allow all those who work to
receive healthcare aid.
Lebanon’s Government
• Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic in which the prime minister leads the
executive branch of the government. The government of Lebanon is based on a
confessionalism framework, which is a type of consociationalism, meaning
representatives of religious communities hold the highest offices that are reserved for
them in a proportional system. Lebanon's Constitution allows its people the right to
change their government, but civil war hindered the country's citizens from exercising
political rights from the mid-1970s until 1992, when parliamentary elections were held.
According to the Constitution, direct elections for Parliament must be held every four
years, the last of which occurred in 2009. The Lebanese president is elected by
parliament to serve a single term of 6 years, and they are not eligible for re-election.
The last presidential elections were held in 2016. The formation of political parties is
permitted, and most parties in the country are based on the interests of particular sects.
Following the Doha Agreement in 2008, the political arena of Lebanon was changed so
that the opposition was permitted a veto power in the Council of Ministers of Lebanon
and confirmed religious Confessionalism in the country's distribution of political power.