Country · Asia
Lebanon
Lebanese Republic
Lebanon is a country in Western Asia. About 6.8 million people live there, in an area of 10 452 square kilometres. Its capital city is Beirut.





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Where is Lebanon?
Lebanon lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 766 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 225 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Israel and Syria.
How big is Lebanon?
Lebanon covers 10 452 square kilometres.
That is about 4 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 161st largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 655.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Lebanon?
About 6.8 million people live in Lebanon.
That is the 106th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic and French.
They pay with the Lebanese pound (ل.ل).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Lebanon
The land of Lebanon sits on average 1 250 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Its coast runs for about 225 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 11 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Lebanon different?
A dish the country is known for: Kibbeh.
Websites from here often end in .lb.
Lebanon and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Lebanon.
It takes up about 0.01 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 42nd of 46 by size, and 32nd by population.
Lebanon and its neighbours
Syria, its largest neighbour, is about 17.7 times bigger.
Syria has more people: 16.9 million against 6.8 million.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is Qurnat as Sawda, at 3 088 metres. The longest river in the country is the Litani. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Lake Qaraoun, is a reservoir.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Lebanon compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 897 times as big as Lebanon: 9 372 610 km² against 10 452 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 23 times as big as Lebanon: 242 900 km² against 10 452 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Lebanon?
The capital of Lebanon is Beirut. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Lebanon?
About 6.8 million people live in Lebanon, which makes it the 106th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Lebanon?
Lebanon covers 10 452 square kilometres, making it the 161st largest country in the world. That is about 4 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Lebanon?
The highest mountain in Lebanon is Qurnat as Sawda, 3 088 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Lebanon?
The longest river in Lebanon is the Litani, about 174 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Lebanon?
The largest body of water in Lebanon is Lake Qaraoun, a reservoir of about 12 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Lebanon in?
Lebanon is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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