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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
On the eve of the Civil War in 1975, it was evident that the
demographic expansion of Beirut and its suburbs had occurred at the
expense of the rest of the country. Between 1960 and 1975 the
population of Greater Beirut increased almost threefold, from
450,000 to 1,250,000. In 1959, 27.7 percent of all Lebanese lived
in Beirut, but this figure ballooned to more than 50 percent in
1975. Lebanon's service-based economy acted as an agent for Western
industries and Arab markets alike, leading to the centralization of
firms and resources in Beirut, which served as a transit point.
Two factors changed the demographic composition of Beirut in
the 1970s. The first was the dramatic growth, starting in 1973, of
labor emigration to the Persian Gulf countries. At one point, the
outflow included about half the entire work force of Beirut. The
second was the series of battles that engulfed the city in a
ferocious war. As for the levels of internal migration of various
sectarian and ethnic groups at different times during the Civil
War, three patterns can be discerned in terms of scope and
duration: heavy migration, fast and temporary (the exodus from
Beirut when it was besieged by the Israeli army in 1982); heavy
migration, fast and permanent (the eviction of Palestinians and
Shias from East Beirut in 1976 and the eviction of Christians from
the Shuf Mountains in 1983); and the slow and intermittent
migration of individuals and families.
Data as of December 1987
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