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Viewing cable 06BEIRUT1010, MGLE01: NORTHERN LEBANON POOREST DISTRICT IN THE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BEIRUT1010 2006-03-30 11:44 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Beirut
VZCZCXRO6944
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHKUK RUEHLMC RUEHMOS RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHPB
DE RUEHLB #1010/01 0891144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301144Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2833
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PTER ECON SOCI LE
SUBJECT: MGLE01:  NORTHERN LEBANON POOREST DISTRICT IN THE 
COUNTRY. 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1.  On March 22, econoff met with Statistics Lebanon chief 
Rabih Haber to attain non-governmental statistics on poverty 
in Lebanon.  According to its recently completed annual 
survey of households, Statistics Lebanon found that qadas in 
northern Lebanon had the highest poverty rates in the 
country.  Akkar had the highest poverty rate with 58 percent 
of households in poverty.  Qadas in southern Lebanon and the 
Biqa Valley enjoyed significantly lower poverty levels, with 
most below the average of 20 percent.  Mount Lebanon also had 
poverty levels lower than 20 percent.  Qadas Batroun and 
Chouf had the lowest poverty rates in the country.  Beirut 
was remarkable, not only for its low poverty rate, but 
because two-thirds of its households were in the "middle 
class."  Every other qada saw a majority of its households in 
the "lower class" if not in poverty.  Haber's study did not 
find a link between education level and poverty by qada, but 
did register a correlation between poverty rates and average 
family size.  End summary. 
 
POVERTY WORST IN NORTH 
---------------------- 
 
2.  On March 22, econoff met with Rabih Haber, Managing 
Director of Statistics Lebanon, a private marketing data 
firm.  Statistics Lebanon conducts annual house-to-house 
surveys throughout Lebanon.  Haber divided the survey's 
households into "upper class," "middle class," "lower class," 
and "lower lower class" based on a complex formula comparing 
a household's income to its family size and expenses.  The 
raw data is represented in para 8. below.  Based on this 
data, Haber was able to give a independent picture of 
poverty, defined as "lower lower class," in each qada of 
Lebanon.  The average qada had 20 percent of households in 
poverty.  Haber's survey data showed that the far north of 
Lebanon had the most households in poverty by a wide margin 
over other parts of Lebanon.  Qada Akkar had 58 percent of 
households in poverty, qada Bcharre had 53 percent in 
poverty, and qada El Minieh-Dinnieh had 52 percent in 
poverty.  Three other northern qadas, Tripoli, Zghorta, and 
Koura, were home to fewer families below the poverty level 
with 22, 25, and 23  percent respectively; but were still 
above the average for all qadas. 
 
BIQA AND SOUTH NOT SO POOR? 
--------------------------- 
 
3.  Surprisingly, even qadas in the Biqa Valley and southern 
Lebanon had far lower poverty rates than the north, according 
to Haber's data.  Qadas Sidon and Tyre on the coast each had 
about 10 percent poverty, while further inland southern qadas 
had higher poverty rates with 14 percent in Nabatiyeh and 21 
percent in Hasbaya.  Nonetheless, the worst southern qada had 
a lower poverty rate than the best northern qada.  In the 
Biqa Valley, the percentage of families living in poverty 
were: 15 percent in Baalbeck, 18 percent in West Biqa, 14 
percent in Zahle, 13 percent in Rachaya, and nearly 20 
percent in Hermel.  It is worth noting, however, that qadas 
in the Biqa Valley and in the south had a high percentage of 
their households in the "lower class" just above the poverty 
level defined by Haber. 
 
MOUNT LEBANON AND 
THE BEIRUT ANOMALY 
------------------ 
 
4.  Walid Jumblatt's Chouf boasted a nine percent poverty 
rate, the second lowest in Lebanon.  The Mount Lebanon region 
enjoyed poverty rates below the national average: 18 percent 
in Baabda (which includes the southern suburbs of Beirut), 14 
percent in Metn, 12 percent in Jbeil, 13 percent in Kesrouan, 
and 11 percent in Aley.  Qada Batroun had the lowest poverty 
rate with just seven percent.  However, like in the Biqa 
Valley and in the south, there were high percentages of 
households in the lower class just above the poverty line. 
The data from mostly Christian and Druze Mount Lebanon 
appeared to suggest that the income gap between Christians 
and Muslims may not be as wide as commonly perceived. 
 
5.  Qada Beirut was unique in that it had a low poverty rate 
(10 percent), the highest rate of "upper class" households 
(2.3 percent) and the highest percentage of "middle class" 
households.  According to Haber's study, two-thirds of Beirut 
households were in the middle class.  The next closest qada 
was Batroun with 30 percent of households considered middle 
 
BEIRUT 00001010  002 OF 003 
 
 
class.  Every other qada had a majority of households in the 
"lower class," if not in poverty.  For example, qada Tyre, 
which had a poverty rate of only 11 percent, saw 75 percent 
of its households in the lower class, and just 10 percent in 
the middle class. 
 
EDUCATION NOT RELATED TO POVERTY 
-------------------------------- 
 
6.  Haber's survey also tracked educational attainment 
status.  There was no apparent correlation between the 
percentage of residents in each qada with university or 
higher degrees and the poverty rate in the qada.  The average 
for all of Lebanon was 23 percent of people had earned 
university degrees or higher.  One of the poorest qadas, 
Akkar, had 23 percent of residents university-educated.  In 
El-Minieh-Dinnieh, another poor qada, 22 percent of residents 
had a university degree or higher.  West Biqa had the highest 
university graduate rate with 34 percent.  Beirut's 
university graduate rate was only 26 percent despite being 
the richest qada.  The lowest university graduate rates were 
in Bcharre (13 percent), Batroun (16 percent), and Chouf (16 
percent).  Bcharre had the second highest poverty rate, but 
Batroun and Chouf had the lowest poverty rates, further 
suggesting no obvious link to education and poverty in 
Lebanon's qadas  (Note:  It is common practice for university 
graduates to refuse any work beneath their education, which 
may explain how poverty could exist in qadas with a high rate 
of education.  In rural areas, such as Akkar, there are less 
job opportunities available at a level consistent with a 
university degree.  End note.) 
 
FAMILY SIZE RELATED TO POVERTY 
------------------------------ 
 
7.  The qadas with the highest poverty rates also tended to 
have the largest percentage of households with five or more 
family members.  Akkar, the qada with the highest poverty 
rate, was also the only qada where more than a tenth of 
households had 10 or more family members.  El Minieh-Dinnieh, 
Tripoli, Hermel, and Baalbeck all had at least five percent 
of households, with 10 or more members.  Qadas that are 
estimated to have majority Sunni or Shia populations tended 
to have larger families.  Families in the mostly Druze Chouf 
were only marginally bigger than in Christian-dominated Mount 
Lebanon. 
 
CLASS DESIGNATIONS BY QADA 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  Haber's raw data is presented below.  The numbers may not 
total 100 percent due to rounding. 
 
In northern Lebanon: 
 
--Akkar: Upper class: 0.33 percent; Middle class: 12 percent; 
Lower class: 29 percent; Lower lower class: 58 percent; 
unknown: 1 percent. 
 
--Tripoli: Upper class: 0.39 percent; Middle class: 21 
percent; Lower class: 51 percent; Lower lower class: 22 
percent; unknown: 6 percent. 
 
--Zghorta: Upper class: 0.28 percent; Middle class: 22 
percent; Lower class: 44 percent; Lower lower class: 25 
percent; unknown: 8 percent. 
 
--El Minieh-Dinnieh: Upper class: 0.10 percent; Middle class: 
15 percent; Lower class: 28 percent; Lower lower class: 52 
percent; unknown: 5 percent. 
 
--Bcharre:  Upper class: 2.17 percent; Middle class: 15 
percent; Lower class: 18 percent; Lower lower class: 53 
percent; unknown: 11 percent. 
 
--Koura: Upper class: 1 percent; Middle class: 28 percent; 
Lower class: 41 percent; Lower lower class: 23 percent; 
unknown: 7 percent. 
 
In the Biqa Valley: 
 
--Baalbeck: Upper class: 0.13 percent; Middle class: 14 
percent; Lower class: 65 percent; Lower lower class: 15 
percent; unknown: 6 percent. 
 
--Hermal: Upper class: 0.06 percent; Middle class: 10 
percent; Lower class: 62 percent; Lower lower class: 20 
 
BEIRUT 00001010  003 OF 003 
 
 
percent; unknown: 8 percent. 
 
--Rachaya:  Upper class: 0.66 percent; Middle class: 11 
percent; Lower class: 65 percent; Lower lower class: 13 
percent; unknown: 11 percent. 
 
--West Biqa:  Upper class: 0.19 percent; Middle class: 15 
percent; Lower class: 60 percent; Lower lower class: 18 
percent; unknown: 7 percent. 
 
--Zahle:  Upper class: 0.26 percent; Middle class: 18 
percent; Lower class: 63 percent; Lower lower class: 14 
percent; unknown: 5 percent. 
 
In southern Lebanon: 
 
--Nabatiyeh: Upper class: 0.10 percent; Middle class: 16 
percent; Lower class: 63 percent; Lower lower class: 14 
percent; unknown: 7 percent. 
 
--Hasbaya: Upper class: 0.79 percent; Middle class: 6 
percent; Lower class: 60 percent; Lower lower class: 21 
percent; unknown: 11 percent. 
 
--Sidon: Upper class: 0.26 percent; Middle class: 20 percent; 
Lower class: 63 percent; Lower lower class: 10 percent; 
unknown: 7 percent. 
 
--Tyre: Upper class: 0.11 percent; Middle class: 10 percent; 
Lower class: 75 percent; Lower lower class: 11 percent; 
unknown: 4 percent. 
 
In Mount Lebanon: 
 
Aley: Upper class: 0.33 percent; Middle class: 25 percent; 
Lower class: 60 percent; Lower lower class: 11 percent; 
unknown: 5 percent. 
 
Baabda: Upper class: 0.80 percent; Middle class: 27 percent; 
Lower class: 50 percent; Lower lower class: 18 percent; 
unknown: 4 percent. 
 
Chouf: Upper class: 0.19 percent; Middle class: 21 percent; 
Lower class: 65 percent; Lower lower class: 9 percent; 
unknown: 5 percent. 
 
Batroun: Upper class: 0.07 percent; Middle class: 30 percent; 
Lower class: 55 percent; Lower lower class: 7 percent; 
unknown: 7 percent. 
 
Metn: Upper class: 0.84 percent; Middle class: 25 percent; 
Lower class: 55 percent; Lower lower class: 14 percent; 
unknown: 5 percent. 
 
Jbeil: Upper class: 0.19 percent; Middle class: 27 percent; 
Lower class: 54 percent; Lower lower class: 12 percent; 
unknown: 6 percent. 
 
Kesrouan: Upper class: 0.43 percent; Middle class: 28 
percent; Lower class: 55 percent; Lower lower class: 13 
percent; unknown: 4 percent. 
 
In Beirut: 
 
--Beirut: Upper class: 2.38 percent; Middle class: 66 
percent; Lower class: 17 percent; Lower lower class: 10 
percent; unknown: 4 percent. 
FELTMAN