Líban: Visió econòmica i política
The share of Lebanon’s foreign trade has been declining sharply in recent years and stood at nearly 79% of GDP in 2021, up from 50% one year earlier mostly due to the contraction in GDP (data World Bank). Lebanon mainly exports minerals (gold), diamonds, furniture, grapes, motor cars and ferrous waste and scrap. The country mainly imports mineral fuels (more than one-fourth of total imports), motor cars, gold, medicaments, and diamonds (data Comtrade 2021).
Lebanon’s main export partners are the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Cameroun, Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S.; whereas imports come chiefly from the EU (mainly Greece, Italy, Germany and France), Turkey, China, the U.S., and the United Arab Emirates (Comtrade).
The war in Syria, the drop in demand from countries in the region and the economic and political crisis in Lebanon are having a negative impact on Lebanese exports, while imports are also hindered by the lack of hard currency. The country's trade balance is structurally in deficit, a trend that should worsen in the upcoming future.
According to WTO data, in 2021 Lebanese merchandise exports stood at USD 4.5 billion as opposed to USD 13.8 billion in imports. No data is available for the trade in services; however, for the same year, the World Bank estimated the overall trade deficit to account for 26.8% of Lebanon’s GDP. According to preliminary data by the Bank of Lebanon, in the first half of 2022 exports of goods totalled USD 2.3 billion against USD 8.5 billion in imports; concerning trade in services, exports reached USD 3.6 billion vis-à-vis USD 2.7 billion in imports.
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 19,911 | 20,396 | 19,641 | 11,355 | 13,857 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 4,026 | 3,830 | 4,829 | 4,085 | 4,590 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 13,815 | 14,243 | 13,336 | 5,734 | 0 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 15,136 | 15,551 | 13,582 | 4,985 | 0 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 68.5 | 68.3 | 62.6 | 50.1 | 78.8 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -14,459 | -14,912 | -13,454 | -6,584 | -8,343 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -13,130 | -13,621 | -12,938 | -6,432 | -7,236 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 2.1 | 1.3 | -9.5 | -46.0 | -12.2 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 3.9 | -4.7 | -0.9 | -53.7 | 13.1 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 46.5 | 47.5 | 42.0 | 33.8 | 52.8 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 21.9 | 20.8 | 20.6 | 16.4 | 26.0 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
United Arab Emirates | 24.3% |
Switzerland | 10.1% |
Cameroon | 6.7% |
Qatar | 4.8% |
Egypt | 4.1% |
United States | 3.6% |
Saudi Arabia | 3.0% |
Iraq | 3.0% |
Türkiye | 2.7% |
Syria | 2.5% |
Greece | 2.2% |
Kuwait | 2.1% |
South Korea | 2.1% |
Jordan | 2.1% |
Ivory Coast | 1.5% |
France | 1.5% |
Spain | 1.4% |
Italy | 1.1% |
Congo | 1.0% |
Germany | 0.9% |
See More Countries | 49.9% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
Türkiye | 11.0% |
Greece | 9.9% |
China | 9.2% |
United States | 5.6% |
United Arab Emirates | 5.5% |
Italy | 4.7% |
Germany | 4.5% |
Russia | 4.4% |
Egypt | 2.6% |
France | 2.5% |
Ukraine | 2.5% |
Cyprus | 2.5% |
United Kingdom | 2.4% |
Switzerland | 2.4% |
Spain | 2.1% |
India | 1.9% |
Belgium | 1.8% |
Saudi Arabia | 1.3% |
Japan | 1.2% |
Netherlands | 1.0% |
See More Countries | 58.9% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
13.5 bn USD of services exported in 2019 | |
63.45% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 60.00% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 3.45% |
12.10% | |
5.51% | |
5.42% | |
5.16% | |
4.19% | |
2.19% | |
1.37% | |
0.42% | |
0.19% |
13.4 bn USD of services imported in 2019 | |
49.97% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 47.69% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 2.28% |
13.96% | |
11.20% | |
10.13% | |
6.29% | |
4.71% | |
2.60% | |
0.75% | |
0.21% | |
0.17% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: April 2023
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