Stats & Numbers

-  LBP 4.2 billion granted to the High Relief Commission by virtue of decree number 6191 issued on August 24, 2011 to pay the Middle East Airlines to airlift Lebanese nationals out of Ivory Coast following the events that troubled the country in April 2011. It is worth mentioning that the Lebanese evacuated were around 1500, which hangs a question mark on the reasons behind such a high cost that reached around USD 2000 for every person.

-  LBP 2.3 billion worth of credits allocated last September from the budget reserve to the budget of the Ministry of Finance- Directorate for Finance. LBP 800 billion of that sum are spent on postal services and LBP 1.5 billion on advertising.

-  LBP 150 million cost for hosting the Regional Agrico-Industries Forum in Lebanon.

-  LBP 5600 billion expenditure on salaries, wages and pension disbursements in the 2012 budget proposal. This cost is likely to increase in the event of approval of new pay hikes or of admission of new civil servants and security members. This cost represents 43 % - 45 % of the estimated revenues.

-  USD 440 thousand annual rent for the new Ministry of Agriculture building in Al Mousaitbeh.

-  USD 426 million profit achieved by the first three leading banks (Bank Awdeh- BLOM Bank- Byblos Bank) in the first half of 2011.

- 21,337 was the number of bank employees in Lebanon at the end of 2010 in comparison with 19,794 employees at the end of 2009, thus representing an increase of 1,543 employees. The estimated number of employees who left work (by resigning or retiring) is 270, which means that the banking sector offered around 1,813 positions. The cost of these employees reaches LBP 1,210 billion annually, LBP 53 billion of which are school grants.

- 65 is the number of banks operating in Lebanon. The first 5 banks account for 60% of deposits, while there are 35 banks that altogether account for 1.5% of deposits.

- $ 22.5 million is the approximate cost of the Amchit - Mayfouq road project, which is to be 24 km long. It is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2013. In previous years, the Metn Highway project was constructed from Nahr El Mot to Baabdat with $27 million. It is worth noting that the former project is being implemented during the mandate of President Michel Suleiman, (from Amchit) and the latter was implemented during President Emile Lahoud ‘s mandate (from Baabdat).

- 50/2011 is the number of the decision issued by Prime Minister Najib Mikati on July 8, 2011, which grants a permanent authorization to the Director General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Dr. Suhail Bouji, to perform some of the prime ministerial functions and sign certain transactions, including administrative and financial transactions.

-  2,106,277 is the number of nights that tourists spent in hotels and furnished apartments in Lebanon during 2010. The total amount of their expenses in this sector was estimated at $ 126 million. These numbers reveal that the real number of tourists that enter Lebanon annually are much lower than the official published numbers.


-  LBP 69 billion is the amount of the decrease in customs revenues between March 2010 and March 2011, which points to a decline in imports and the economy in general.


-  1,676,372 is the number of credit cards available in Lebanon at the beginning of 2011. The amount of payments and withdrawals made by these cards reached $ 7.4 billion.


-  LBP 1,655 billion is the budget’s deficit in the first quarter of 2011, in comparison with LBP 861 billion during the same period last year, thus representing an increase of LBP 794 billion or 92%


- LBP 6,800 billion is the amount of housing loans at the end of 2010, compared with LBP 2,665 billion at the end of 2008, thus representing an increase of LBP 4,135 billion or 155%.