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Lebanon

Asia

To which language should you translate to localize in Lebanon?

LANGUAGE INSIGHT

Official language

Arabic (93%)

Actual languages

Arabic (93%), Armenian (2.9%), other (4.1%).

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Lebanon

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

  • 32/150 localize by translating into Arabic
  • 2/150 localize by translating into French
  • 2/150 localize by translating into both Arabic and French
  • Localization not available 3M
  • Localization not available ABB
  • Localization not available Accenture
  • Localization not available Adidas
  • Localization not available Adobe
  • Localization not available Airbnb
  • Localization not available Aldi
  • Localization not available Amazon
  • Localization not available American Airlines
  • Localization not available American Express
  • Localization not available Apple
  • Localization available Audi
  • Localization not available Autodesk
  • Localization not available Avis
  • Localization available Bayer
  • Localization not available BMW
  • Localization not available Booking.com
  • Localization available Bosch
  • Localization available British Airways
  • Localization not available Bumble
  • Localization not available Burberry
  • Localization not available BYD
  • Localization available Canon
  • Localization not available Capgemini
  • Localization not available Cartier
  • Localization not available Caterpillar
  • Localization available Chevrolet
  • Localization not available Cisco Systems
  • Localization not available Citibank
  • Localization not available Coca-Cola
  • Localization not available Costco
  • Localization not available Dell
  • Localization not available Deloitte
  • Localization not available Delta
  • Localization available DHL
  • Localization not available Disney+
  • Localization not available Dyson
  • Localization not available eBay
  • Localization not available Eli Lilly
  • Localization available Emirates
  • Localization not available Ernst & Young
  • Localization available Facebook
  • Localization not available FedEx
  • Localization available Ford
  • Localization not available Four Seasons
  • Localization not available Fujifilm
  • Localization not available GE
  • Localization not available Gillette
  • Localization not available GoDaddy
  • Localization available Google
  • Localization not available Gucci
  • Localization not available Haier
  • Localization not available Heineken
  • Localization not available Hermès
  • Localization not available Hertz
  • Localization not available Hilton
  • Localization not available Hisense
  • Localization not available Hitachi
  • Localization not available Honda
  • Localization not available Hotels.com
  • Localization not available HP
  • Localization not available HP Enterprise
  • Localization not available HSBC
  • Localization not available Huawei
  • Localization not available Hyatt
  • Localization available Hyundai
  • Localization not available IBM
  • Localization not available IKEA
  • Localization not available Intel
  • Localization available InterContinental Hotels
  • Localization not available J&J
  • Localization not available Jack Daniel's
  • Localization available Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Localization not available John Deere
  • Localization not available Kellogg's
  • Localization not available Kia
  • Localization not available KPMG
  • Localization not available LOréal
  • Localization available Land Rover
  • Localization not available LEGO
  • Localization not available Lenovo
  • Localization not available Lexus
  • Localization available LG
  • Localization not available Louis Vuitton
  • Localization not available Lululemon
  • Localization not available LUSH
  • Localization available Marriott
  • Localization available MasterCard
  • Localization not available McDonald's
  • Localization available Mercedes-Benz
  • Localization not available Merck
  • Localization not available Microsoft
  • Localization not available Mitsubishi Electric
  • Localization not available Nestlé
  • Localization not available Netflix
  • Localization not available Nike
  • Localization not available Nikon
  • Localization not available Nintendo
  • Localization not available Nio
  • Localization available Nissan
  • Localization available NIVEA
  • Localization not available Oracle
  • Localization available Pampers
  • Localization not available Panasonic
  • Localization not available PayPal
  • Localization available Pepsi
  • Localization available Pfizer
  • Localization available Philips
  • Localization not available Pitney Bowes
  • Localization not available Porsche
  • Localization not available Procter & Gamble
  • Localization not available PWC
  • Localization not available Revolut
  • Localization not available Rolex
  • Localization not available Royal Caribbean
  • Localization not available Salesforce
  • Localization not available Samsung
  • Localization not available Sanofi
  • Localization available SAP
  • Localization not available Sephora
  • Localization not available Shopify
  • Localization not available Siemens
  • Localization available Sony
  • Localization available Spotify
  • Localization available Starbucks
  • Localization not available Steelcase
  • Localization not available Stripe
  • Localization not available Subaru
  • Localization not available Tesla
  • Localization available The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Localization not available Tiffany
  • Localization not available Tinder
  • Localization not available Toshiba
  • Localization not available Toyota
  • Localization not available TripAdvisor
  • Localization available Uber
  • Localization not available United Airlines
  • Localization not available UPS
  • Localization available Visa
  • Localization available Volkswagen
  • Localization not available Volvo Cars
  • Localization not available Vrbo
  • Localization not available Walmart
  • Localization not available Western Union
  • Localization available Wikipedia
  • Localization not available Wise
  • Localization not available WordPress
  • Localization not available Workday
  • Localization available Xerox
  • Localization not available Xiaomi (Mi)
  • Localization available Zara
  • Localization not available Zoom
Available in

If you need others information, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data

Introduction


Language

Official language
Arabic (93%)

Actual languages
Armenian (2.9%), other (4.1%)

English 30%, French 45%. While Arabic is Lebanon’s official language, English and French are widely spoken. 

T-index
0.071%

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.

Other languages
Armenian 6% and Kurdish 1%

English
Moderate proficiency (EF) – 34 of 112 countries/regions in the world- 1/12 position in Middle East.

Demography

Capital: Beirut
Currency: Lebanese Pound
Population: 6.77 m
Population density: 667/km2

Economy

GDP: 18.08 billion USD (2021)
GDP per capita: 2,670.4 USD ‎(2021) ‎
Exports: $4.24 billion (2020)

Statistics

Internet users: 89.3% penetration, 6.01 million
Unemployment rate: 14.5% (2021)
Urbanisation: 88.76% (2019)
Literacy: 99.13 % (2019)

Conventions

Numbering system
Arabic numerals and comma as decimal separator
Date format: dd – mm – yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00961


Language data sources: Worldatlas/Britannica//EF/Wikipedia; Demography data sources: IMF/Worldometers; Conventions data source: Wikipedia; Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal; Statistics data sources: Datareportal/WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/Culturalatlas/Commisceoglobal

Facts and Data


Economy

Imports
$12.9 billion (2020). Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude ($2.81B), Medicaments ($681M), Gold ($587M), Aircraft ($521M), and Turbo-jets, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines ($460M), importing mostly from Turkey ($945M), China ($919M), Germany ($897M), United States ($857M), and United Arab Emirates ($837M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 45% have an account with a financial institution
• 15% have a credit card
• 0.7% have a mobile money account
• 16% make online purchases

Ease of doing business
It is easy to conduct business (rated 66.1 out of 100) ranked 15th out of 20 Middle Eastern and Northern African countries and 143rd out of 190 countries worldwide (2020, World Bank)

Exports
$4.24 billion (2020). Gold ($1.05B), Diamonds ($257M), Ferrous waste and scrap ($167M), Jewellery ($164M), and Motor cars and other motor vehicles ($109M), exporting mostly to Switzerland ($1.1B), United Arab Emirates ($574M), Saudi Arabia ($233M), United States ($182M), and Qatar ($161M).

Economic freedom
Mostly not free’ (rated 47.3 out of 100) ranked 12th out of 14 Middle Eastern countries and ranked 162nd out of 186 countries worldwide (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 16th out of 19 Northern African and Western Asian countries, 92nd out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.


Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal


Service Imports (2017)

Source: OEC


Service Exports (2017)

Source: OEC


Most complex products by PCI

Specialisation is measured using Revealed Comparative Advantage, an index that takes the ratio between Lebanon observed and expected exports in each product

Source: OEC


Most specialised products by RCA Index

Product Complexity Index measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters

Source: OEC


Export Opportunities by Relatedness

Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product, the barchart show only products that Lebanon is not specialized in

Source: OEC


T-index

T-index

Reach most of the online purchasing power

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.

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Media

Media language Arabic, English

Information channels
Lebanon’s broadcasting scene is developed and lively and reflects the country’s pluralism and its divisions. It was the first Arab country to permit private radio and TV and has become a regional media hub. Media freedom is enshrined in the constitution, although curbs forbid the media from defaming the president or other heads of state and inciting sectarian strife. Almost all TVs and radios are privately-owned and many are affiliated with political groups. Al-Manar TV is operated by militant group Hezbollah. Take-up of satellite and cable is widespread. Lebanese TVs are known for hosting some of the most daring cultural and social talks shows in the Middle East. There are dozens of private radio stations. BBC Arabic and Radio France Internationale are carried by partner stations. There are no widespread access curbs, although some sites relating to gambling and pornography, as well as some Israeli websites, are blocked. News websites across the political spectrum are a key information source.

The press

An-Nahar – (The Day) daily
Nidaa al-Watan – (Call of the Nation) daily
Al-Diyar – (The Homeland) daily
L’Orient-Le Jour – in French
The Daily Star – in English

Television

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCi) – commercial, market leader and pan-regional broadcaster
Future TV – commercial, owned by Hariri family
Al-Jadeed – commercial
Murr TV (MTV) – commercial
Tele-Liban – state-run
Al-Manar – (The Beacon), pro-Hezbollah

Radio

Voice of Lebanon – commercialSawt al-Ghad – (Voice of Tomorrow), commercial
Radio Orient – commercial
Radio Liban – state-run

News agency

Lebanese National News Agency – state-run, pages in English
Naharnet – news website, pages in English
Ya Libnan – news site, in English
Lebanon 24 – news site, in Arabic


Media data source: BBC


Internet Data

Internet users
89.3% penetration, 6.01 million

Share of web traffic by device
Mobile phones 61.5%, laptops and desktop computers 35.95%, tablet devices 2.09%, other devices 0.11%

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
21.30 Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
7.67 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 68.4%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 93.7%

Most popular web search engines
Google (97.15%), Bing (1.95%), and Yahoo (0.57%) DuckDuckgo (0.13), Petal search (0.08%), Yandex (0.07%)

Most used social media
Facebook (79.1%), YouTube (9.46%), Twitter (4.27%), Instagram (4.12%), Pinterest (2.51%), Reddit (0.38%)


Internet data sources: Datareportal/Statcounter


Social statistics

Life expectancy
79 yrs (2020)

Average age of population
29.6 yrs (2019)

Unemployment rate
11.3% (2019)

Gender
The Lebanese have equal opportunities in all jobs and, of course, in education. However, Lebanese women who are married to non-Lebanese are not permitted to pass citizenship to their kids. Women are rarely appointed to high-ranking political positions.

Class
With the present economic situation, almost every Lebanese home needs two incomes to function. The Lebanese class situation ranges from either poor to very wealthy. Lebanon has limited offerings in terms of welfare, healthcare, old-age pensions and life after retiring.

Literacy
95% (2019)

Healthcare expenditure
12.32% of GDP (2019)

Urbanisation
88.76% (2020)

Religion
Lebanon is the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East. Some say that religious beliefs affect one’s chances of being hired in some places and that people sometimes hire others from the same religion. Where you are from in Lebanon very often indicates your religious beliefs.

Ethnicity
All Lebanese communities share the same ethnic roots except the Armenians, who fled their country and came to Lebanon. In order to keep their identity, Armenians tend to live in the same areas and do business mostly with each other. Many international workers (non-Westerners) come to Lebanon for jobs. Many house helpers, nannies, janitors, people at gas stations and manual workers come from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Syria.


Social statistics sources: WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF


The Data Factbook is a work in progress project. Our community is helping us to fill it up always with new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write your advices at imminent@translated.com.


Language Research


Languages and dialects spoken in Lebanon

Legend

  • North Lebanese Arabic

  • Beqaa Arabic

  • Jdaideh Arabic

  • Iqlim-Al-Kharrub Sunni Arabic

  • South Labanese Arabic

  • Saida Sunni Arabic

  • South-Central Labanese Arabic

  • Sunni Beiruti Arabic

  • North-Central Lebanese Arabic


Photo credit: Piotr Chrobot, Unsplash