Demographics
The population of Lebanon was estimated to be 4,125,247 in July 2010, however no official census has been taken since 1932 due to the sensitive confessional political balance between Lebanon's various religious groups. Identifying all Lebanese as ethnically Arab is a widely employed example of panethnicity since in reality, the Lebanese “are descended from many different peoples who have occupied, invaded, or settled this corner of the world,” making Lebanon, “a mosaic of closely interrelated cultures”. While at first glance, this ethnic, linguistic, religious and denominational diversity might seem to cause civil and political unrest, “for much of Lebanon’s history this multitudinous diversity of religious communities has coexisted with little conflict”.
Millions of people of Lebanese descent are spread throughout the world, mostly Christians, especially in Latin America. Brazil has the largest expatriate population. (See Lebanese Brazilians). Large numbers of Lebanese migrated to West Africa, particularly to the Ivory Coast (home to over 100,000 Lebanese) and Senegal (roughly 30,000 Lebanese). Australia is home to over 270,000 Lebanese (1999 est.).
As of 2012, Lebanon was host to over 460,000 refugees and asylum seekers: 405,425 Palestinians, 50,000–60,000 from Iraq, over 80,000 from Syria, and 4,500 from Sudan. Their primary sources of income are UNRWA aid and menial labor sought in competition with about 300,000 Syrian guest workers.
In the last three decades, lengthy and destructive armed conflicts have ravaged the country. The majority of Lebanese have been affected by armed conflict; those with direct personal experience include 75% of the population, and most others report suffering a range of hardships. In total, almost the entire population (96%) has been affected in some way – either personally or because of the wider consequences of armed conflict.
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