Editing Demographics of Lebanon (section)

== Immigrants and ethnic groups ==

There are substantial numbers of immigrants from other [[Arab world|Arab countries]] (mainly [[Palestine]], [[Syria]], [[Iraq]]) and non-Arab-speaking Muslim countries. Also, recent years have seen an influx of people from [[Ethiopia]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/newsArticleAF/cache/offonce?entryId=9427|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101034921/http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/newsArticleAF/cache/offonce?entryId=9427|archive-date=2006-11-01|title=IOM Steps Up Evacuation of Stranded Migrants from Lebanon|date=July 26, 2006 |publisher=International Organization for Migration|access-date=2009-01-08}}</ref> and [[South East Asia]]n countries such as [[Indonesia]], the [[Philippines]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sri Lanka]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast-crisis/canada-lebanon.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721030419/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast-crisis/canada-lebanon.html|archive-date=2006-07-21|title=CBC News In Depth: Middle East in Crisis – Canada and Lebanon, a special tie|date=1 August 2006|publisher=CBC News|access-date=8 January 2009}}</ref> as well as smaller numbers of other immigrant minorities, including [[Arab diaspora in Colombia|Colombians]] and [[Lebanese Brazilian|Brazilians]] (many of Lebanese descent themselves). Most of these are employed as guest workers in the same fashion as Syrians and Palestinians, and entered the country to search for employment in the post-war reconstruction of Lebanon. Apart from the Palestinians, there are approximately 180,000 [[Stateless person|stateless]] persons in Lebanon.

===Armenians===
[[File:Antelias - Armeni.jpg|thumb|right|140px|[[Armenian Church]] in north [[Beirut]]]]
{{Main|Armenians in Lebanon}}

[[Armenians]] have lived in [[Lebanon]] for centuries. According to [[Minority Rights Group International]], there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the [[Lebanese Civil War]], the number was higher, but the community lost a portion of its population to emigration.

===French and Italians===
{{Main|French people in Lebanon|Italians in Lebanon}}
{{see also|France–Lebanon relations}}
During the [[French Mandate of Lebanon]], there was a fairly large French minority and a tiny Italian minority. Most of the French and Italian settlers left after Lebanese independence in 1943 and only 22,000 [[French people in Lebanon|French Lebanese]] and 4,300 [[Italians in Lebanon|Italian Lebanese]] continue to live in Lebanon. The most important legacy of the French Mandate is the frequent use and knowledge of the [[French language]] by most of the educated Lebanese people, and [[Beirut]] is still known as the "[[Paris]] of the Middle East".

===Palestinians===
{{Main|Palestinians in Lebanon}}
Around 175,555 [[Palestinian refugee]]s were registered in Lebanon with the [[UNRWA]] in 2014, who are refugees or descendants of refugees from the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. Some 53% live in 12 [[Palestine refugee camps]], who "suffer from serious problems" such as poverty and overcrowding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/lebanon|title=Where We Work: Lebanon|work=UNRWA|date=1 July 2014|access-date=6 December 2015}}</ref> Some of these may have emigrated during the [[Lebanese Civil War|civil war]], but there are no reliable figures available. There are also a number of Palestinians who are not registered as UNRWA refugees, because they left earlier than 1948 or were not in need of material assistance. The exact number of Palestinians remain a subject of great dispute and the Lebanese government will not provide an estimate. A figure of 400,000 Palestinian refugees would mean that Palestinians constitute less than 7% of the resident population of Lebanon.

Palestinians living in Lebanon are considered foreigners and are under the same restrictions on employment applied to other foreigners. Prior to 2010, they were under even more restrictive employment rules which permitted, other than work for the U.N., only the most menial employment. Palestinian refugees, who constitute nearly 6.6% of the country's population, have long been denied basic rights in Lebanon. They are not allowed to attend public schools, own property or pass on inheritances, measures Lebanon says it has adopted to preserve their right to return to their property in what constitutes Israel now.<ref>{{cite news|author=Nada Bakri|author-link=Nada Bakri |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/middleeast/18lebanon.html?_r=0|title=Lebanon Gives Palestinians New Work Rights|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 August 2010|access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref>

Their presence is controversial, and resisted by large segments of the Christian population, who argue that the primarily Sunni Muslim Palestinians dilute Christian numbers. Many Shia Muslims also look unfavorably upon the Palestinian presence since the refugee camps have tended to be concentrated in their home areas. The Lebanese [[Sunni Islam in Lebanon|Sunnis]], however, would be happy to see these Palestinians given the [[Lebanese nationality law|Lebanese nationality]], thus increasing the Lebanese Sunni population by well over 10% and tipping the fragile electoral balance much in favor of the Sunnis. Late prime minister [[Rafiq Hariri]] —himself a Sunni— had hinted on more than one occasion on the inevitability of granting these refugees Lebanese citizenship. Thus far the refugees lack Lebanese citizenship as well as many rights enjoyed by the rest of the population, and are confined to severely overcrowded refugee camps, in which construction rights are severely constricted.

Palestinians may not work in a large number of professions, such as lawyers and doctors. However, after negotiations between Lebanese authorities and ministers from the [[Palestinian National Authority]] some professions for Palestinians were allowed (such as taxi driver and construction worker). The material situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is difficult, and they are believed to constitute the poorest community in Lebanon, as well as the poorest Palestinian community with the possible exception of [[Gaza Strip]] refugees. Their primary sources of income are UNRWA aid and menial labor sought in competition with Syrian [[guest worker]]s.

The Palestinians are majority Sunni Muslims with a Christian minority, though at some point Christians counted as high as 40% with Muslims at 60%. The numbers of Palestinian Christians has diminished in later years, as many have managed to leave Lebanon.

60,000 Palestinians have received Lebanese citizenship.

===Syrians===
{{Main|Syrians in Lebanon}}
{{see also|Lebanon–Syria relations}}
In 1976, the then Syrian president [[Hafez al-Assad]] sent troops into Lebanon to fight PLO forces on behalf of Christian militias. This led to escalated fighting until a cease-fire agreement later that year that allowed for the stationing of Syrian troops within Lebanon. The Syrian presence in Lebanon quickly changed sides; soon after they entered Lebanon they had flip-flopped and began to fight the Christian nationalists in Lebanon they allegedly entered the country to protect. The Kateab Party and the Lebanese Forces under Bachir Gemayel strongly resisted the Syrians in Lebanon. In 1989, 40,000 Syrian troops remained in central and eastern Lebanon under the supervision of the Syrian government. Although, the Taif Accord, established in the same year, called for the removal of Syrian troops and transfer of arms to the Lebanese army, the [[Syrian Army]] remained in Lebanon until the Lebanese [[Cedar Revolution]] in 2005 ended the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

In 1994, the Lebanese government under the pressure of the Syrian government, gave Lebanese passports to thousands of Syrians.<ref>{{cite web |title=Citizenship requirements and procedures for an individual who was born in Lebanon to parents with Syrian citizenship, has a permanent residency permit, and whose spouse was granted Lebanese citizenship by Decree (2012-November 2013) |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5481746f4.html |website=Refworld |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |language=en}}</ref>

After the start of the [[Syrian Civil War]] in 2011, Syrians began to flee the country, with many arriving in Lebanon. As of 2013, there were nearly 1.08 million registered<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486676.html|website=unhcr.org|title=UNHCR - Lebanon}}</ref> [[Refugees of the Syrian Civil War|Syrian refugees]] in Lebanon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122|title=Syria Regional Refugee Response - Lebanon|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)|work=UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response|date=31 October 2015|access-date=6 December 2015|archive-date=26 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626091416/http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122|url-status=dead}}</ref> but is estimated that the figure is closer 1.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Plight of Syrian Refugees – PRIO Blogs|url=https://blogs.prio.org/2021/08/the-plight-of-syrian-refugees/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=blogs.prio.org|date=6 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Assyrians===
{{Main|Assyrians in Lebanon}}
There are an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 [[Assyrians in Iraq|Iraqi Assyrian]] refugees in Lebanon. The vast majority of them are [[Illegal immigration|undocumented]], with a large number having been deported or put in prison.<ref name="IraqisInLebanon">{{Cite web|last=Murphy|first=Maureen Clare|date=2007-04-09|title=Invisible lives: Iraqis in Lebanon|url=https://electronicintifada.net/content/invisible-lives-iraqis-lebanon/6849|access-date=2021-10-30|website=The Electronic Intifada|language=en}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2024}} They belong to various denominations, including the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], and [[Syriac Catholic Church]].

===Iraqis===
{{Main|Iraqis in Lebanon}}
Due to the US-led [[invasion of Iraq]], Lebanon received a mass influx of [[Iraqi refugees]] numbering at around 100,000. The vast majority of them are undocumented, with a large number having been deported or put in prison.<ref name="IraqisInLebanon"/>{{better source needed|date=December 2024}}

===Kurds===
{{Main|Kurds in Lebanon}}
There are an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Kurdish refugees from Turkey and Syria within Lebanese territory. Many of them are [[Illegal immigration|undocumented]]. As of 2012, around 40% of all Kurds in Lebanon do not have [[Lebanese nationality law|Lebanese citizenship]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Brooke Anderson|url=http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/2/kurdsworld580.htm|title=Kurds in Lebanon endure poverty, grapple with assimilation|publisher=Ekurd Daily|date=9 February 2012|access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref>

===Turks===
{{Main|Turks in Lebanon}}

The [[Turkish people]] began to migrate to Lebanon once the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultan [[Selim I]] conquered the region in 1516. Turks were encouraged to stay in Lebanon by being rewarded with land and money.<ref>{{citation|last=Orhan|first=Oytun|year=2010|url=http://www.orsam.org.tr/en/enUploads/Article/Files/2010110_sayi11_eng_web.pdf|title=The Forgotten Turks: Turkmens of Lebanon|publisher=ORSAM|page=7|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181832/http://www.orsam.org.tr/en/enUploads/Article/Files/2010110_sayi11_eng_web.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref> Today the Turkish minority numbers approximately 80,000.<ref name=Al-Akhbar>{{cite web|author=Al-Akhbar|title=Lebanese Turks Seek Political and Social Recognition|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-turks-seek-political-and-social-recognition|access-date=2012-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620232105/https://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-turks-seek-political-and-social-recognition|archive-date=2018-06-20|url-status=dead}}</ref> Moreover, since the [[Syrian Civil War]], approximately 125,000 to 150,000 [[Syrian Turkmen]] refugees arrived in [[Lebanon]], and hence they now outnumber the long established Turkish minority who settled since the Ottoman era.<ref>{{citation|last=Ahmed|first=Yusra|year=2015|title=Syrian Turkmen refugees face double suffering in Lebanon|url=https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/11837.html|publisher=Zaman Al Wasl|access-date= 11 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Syrian Observer|year=2015|title=Syria's Turkmen Refugees Face Cruel Reality in Lebanon|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/Features/29920/Syria_Turkmen_Refugees_Face_Cruel_Reality_Lebanon|access-date=10 October 2016|archive-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011055226/http://syrianobserver.com/EN/Features/29920/Syria_Turkmen_Refugees_Face_Cruel_Reality_Lebanon|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Circassians===

The [[Circassians]] migrated to the Ottoman Empire including Lebanon and neighboring countries in the 18th and 19th century. However, they are mostly located in [[Akkar Governorate]], in which they have come to [[Berkail]] since 1754. Today the Circassian minority numbers approximately 100,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nidaalwatan.com/article/2487-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%87%D9%88%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B3-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%83-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B5%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B1%D8%BA%D9%85-%D8%B5%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A9|title=الشركس في لبنان: تمسّك بالأصول رغم صعوبة اللغة والتواصل|website=nidaalwatan.com|language=ar|date=3 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apsnypress.info/en/news/circassians-from-lebanon-visited-abkhazia-for-the-first-time/|title=Circassians from Lebanon visited Abkhazia for the first time|website=apsnypress.info|date=10 May 2017|access-date=8 December 2019|archive-date=8 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208111110/http://www.apsnypress.info/en/news/circassians-from-lebanon-visited-abkhazia-for-the-first-time/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Doms===
{{main|Doms in Lebanon}}
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://insanassociation.org/2011_TheDomPeopleLebanon.pdf|title=The Dom People and their Children in Lebanon}}</ref>