As one of the largest debtor nations in the world relative to its population and natural resources, Lebanon and its giant public debt and interest rate are a main concern of Lebanese citizens and the government. The lack of natural resources, big industry or surplus agricultural products means few exports, or $1,524 million worth of exports in 2003, compared with $7,168 in imports (see 2003 trade statistics on pages 6–7), resulting in a $5,644 million trade deficit. On the other hand, the balance of payments saw a $3.4 billion surplus owing to an increase in remittances from Lebanese living abroad (partly a result of the events of September 11) and funds from the Paris II donor conference.
Lebanon’s actual debt, its development and the financial dues required to cover the debt in 2004 are explored below.

Origin of the public debt and its development
In early 1993, the net public debt stood at around LL 5,000 billion, distributed in LL 4,433 billion of domestic debt in local currency and $327 million of external debt in foreign currencies. By the end of 2003, the debt had grown to LL 47,177 billion (the current debt excluding public sector deposits is around LL 50,196 billion), out of which half is external debt.

Interest on the debt rose from LL 325 billion in 1993 to LL 4,874 billion in 2003, or an increase of LL 13.3 billion per day. ...Full Story