About Lebanon
The map shows Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, a mountainous country in the Levant with a coastline on the eastern
Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon borders
Israel in the south,
Syria in the north and t
he Anti-Lebanon mountains form for long stretches the border between Lebanon and Syria in the east. The country also shares maritime borders with
Cyprus.
The smallest nation on the Asian mainland covers an
area of 10,400 km², compared it is about one-third the size of
Belgium or about one-third the size of the US state of
Maryland.
Lebanon has a
population of
about 6.1 million people (in 2019) including approximately 1.5 million refugees from Syria and Palestine.
[1] The majority of the Lebanese people live on or near the Mediterranean coast.
The country's national capital and largest city is
Beirut. Spoken
language is Lebanese Arabic. Lebanon has the most religiously diverse society in the Middle East, main religions are Islam (58%), followed by Christianity (36%), and Lebanese Druze faith (5%).
Lebanon's main geographical features
Lebanon has a narrow coastal strip along the Mediterranean Sea. The coast is home to most of the larger cities and towns of the country.
Agriculture in the region produces fruits and vegetables.
Mount Lebanon is a mountain range that dominates the entire country; it extends along the Mediterranean coast for about 160 km (100 mi). Located within the range is
Qurnat As Sawda, the Levant's highest mountain, at an elevation of 3,093 m (10,148 ft).
The
Anti-Lebanon mountains, the "Eastern Mountains of Lebanon" is a mountain range in the east of the country. Along its crest runs the Lebanon-Syria border.
The
Beqaa Valley (Al-Biqā) is a high plateau at an average elevation of 1000 m, situated between the Mount Lebanon range to the west and Anti-Lebanon mountains to the east. The northeasternmost extension of the Great Rift Valley is a major farming region; it contains nearly half of Lebanon’s arable land.
Primary Level Administrative Divisions of Lebanon
Lebanon is divided into eight governorates (muhafazah, Arabic: محافظات ). These governorates are from the north to the south (capitals in brackets):
Akkar (Halba); North Governorate (ash Shamal; capital is Tripoli); Baalbek-Hermel (Baalbek); Mount Lebanon (Baabda)
Beirut Governorate (Beirut); Beqaa Governorate (Zahle), Nabatieh Governorate (Nabatiye), and the South Governorate (Sidon).
More about Lebanon
Aerial photo of Beirut at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, capital of Lebanon.
Photo: Alain Abou-Atmeh
Almost all of Lebanon's major cities are located on the Mediterranean coast.
The country's largest cities are
The nation's capital
Beirut, the city with an estimated population of between 1 and 2 million people is situated on a peninsula of the Mediterranean coast.
Tripoli, a seaport in northern Lebanon (not to be confused with Tripoli, the capital of Libya).
Zahlé (Zaḥlah), a city with about 120,000 inhabitants is situated in the transition zone between the eastern foothills of Mount Sannine (Lebanon mountains) and the Beqaa plateau.
Sidon was an important center of trade for the Phoenicians and later for the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The Bible describes Sidon in several passages. The city was conquered by the crusader ruler Baldwin I in 1110. Today it is the capital of Libanon's South Governorate.
Aley (Aalay) is a major Druze city also known as 'Capital of the Mountains'; it is located on Mount Lebanon, about 18 km southeast of Beirut.
Tyre (Sur), the city
is situated on a peninsula; it was an important trade center for centuries and for some time the capital of the Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Tyre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
Baalbek (Baʿlabakk) at the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains in the Beqaa Valley was named for Baal, the Phoenician deity, the Greeks called it Heliopolis. The former Phoenician city is the site of a number of outstanding Roman ruins.
Baalbek is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
Byblos (Jbail) is a small city at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it was a port and trade center of the Phoenician civilization. The town was continuously inhabited since 5000 BC.
Byblos is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The map shows the location of following cities, towns:
Aaley, Aanjar, Aarsal, Ain Zebde, Al Bahharah, Amioun, Ash, Baabda, Baalbek, Barr Elias, Batroun, Bcharre, Beirut, Bent Jbaïl, Beskinta, Bhamdoun, Bikfaïya, Bouda, Britel, Chekka, Dahr El Ahmar, Damour, Deïr El Qamar, Douma, Ehden, El Aïn, El Mina, El Qalamoun, El Qaraaoum, Ghuma, Halba, Hermel, Insariyah, Jbaïl, Jezzine, Jouaiya, Joûnie, Marjayoun, Metulla, Nabatiye, Qattin, Qoubaïyat, Qartaba, Ramyah, Rayak, Sidon, Sur (Tyre), Tripoli, Zahle, and Zgharta.
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use above map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project. 
