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Lebanon: Introductory country profile

The World Bank says Lebanon is experiencing one of the world’s worst economic crises, with a halving in the size of its economy from 2019 to 2021. This was exacerbated by a two-year political vacuum, resolved in 2025 with the election of a president, and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict of 2023/24. These have worsened conditions for the 1.5 million Syrian refugees Lebanon hosts.

The UK provides both humanitarian and military aid to Lebanon. This includes support to Lebanon’s armed forces to counter the influence of Hezbollah, which is an armed group linked to Iran and a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, and to provide security against Islamic State/Daesh.

This briefing introduces Lebanon’s politics, human rights, trade, and international relations. It also signposts further reading. Please visit the Library’s Middle East pages for further analysis on the region’s politics.

What does this paper cover?

This 23 page briefing provides an introduction to Lebanon's:

• Leadership, politics, and political rights, including the 2022 elections. Following an extended political vacuum, a new presidency and government were appointed in 2025. The government has committed to implement reforms to secure external funding and wants the Lebanese Armed Forces to be the sole military force in the country. 
• Economy, including World Bank analysis of the causes of the country's substantial economic crisis and its impacts on poverty and refugees. 
• Human rights, including the rights of women and migrant workers and other political and media rights. 
• Trade with the UK
• Armed Forces, specifically foreign support to strengthen them as a counter to the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group. 
• Foreign relations, including with the UK, United States, France and the European Union, neighbouring Israel and Syria, and Arab Gulf states.

This briefing signposts further reading on these topics on pages 19 to 23. This includes links to relevant Library briefing papers and UK Parliament proceedings.

Please visit the Library’s Middle East pages for further analysis on the region’s politics.