Lebanese diaspora

Lebanese diaspora refers to Lebanese migrants and their descendants who, whether by choice or coercion, emigrated from Lebanon and now reside in other countries.

Although there are no reliable figures, the diaspora is estimated to be around 14 million people, far more than the internal population of Lebanon of 4.3 million.^[1] Of the diaspora, only 1.2 million are Lebanese citizens.^[2]

History

The Lebanese diaspora, while historically trade-related, has more recently been linked to the Lebanese Civil War, with many Lebanese emigrating to Western countries. Because of the economic opportunities, many Lebanese have also worked in the Arab World, most notably the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Currently around 65% of Lebanese citizens resident in Lebanon are Muslim and around 34% are Christian.^[3] This proportion is reversed for the diaspora; again, true figures are uncertain and estimates of the proportion of Christians range from 65%^{[citation needed]} to 90%^{[citation needed]}.

The Americas have long been a destination for Lebanese migration, with Lebanese arriving in some countries at least as early as the nineteenth century. The largest concentration of Lebanese outside the Middle East is in Brazil, which has reportedly over 7 million Brazilians of Lebanese ancestry, making Brazil's population of Lebanese nearly twice that of the entire population of Lebanon. There are also other large Lebanese communities in Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Many Lebanese have also been settled for quite some time in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. There are also sizable populations in francophone West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast.

Lebanese abroad are not presently permitted the right to vote in Lebanese elections. A law passed in late 2008 gives expatriates the right to vote in elections in 2013.^[4]

Economic impacts

Lebanese abroad are considered "rich, educated and influential"^[5] and over the course of time emigration has yielded Lebanese "commercial networks" throughout the world.^[6] As a result, remittances from Lebanese abroad to family members within the country were estimated at $7.5 billion in 2010 and accounted for 18% of the country's economy.^[7]

Lebanese populations in the diaspora

There are no reliable statistics about the actual number of people of Lebanese descent. The list below contains approximate figures for people of Lebanese descent by country of residence, largely taken from the iLoubnan diaspora map.^[8] Additional reliable cites have been provided where possible. Additional estimates have been included where they can be cited; where applicable, these are used in place of the iLoubnan figures.

Country	Estimate	Upper Estimate	Region	Country article in English Wikipedia	List of personalities of Lebanese origin
Brazil	5,800,000[8]	7,000,000[9]	Latin America	Lebanese Brazilian	Brazil
Argentina	1,200,000[8][10]	1,500,000[10]	Latin America	Lebanese Argentine	Argentina
United States	500,000[11][note 1]	950,000 [12][note 2]	North America	Lebanese American	USA
Venezuela	341,000[8]		Latin America	Lebanese Venezuelan	Venezuela
Australia	271,000[13][14]	350,000[15]	Oceania	Lebanese Australian	Australia
Mexico	240,000[8]	400,000[16]	Latin America	Lebanese Mexican	Mexico
Canada	144,000[17]	270,000[8][18]	North America	Lebanese Canadians	Canada
Colombia	125,000[8]	700,000[19]	Latin America	Lebanese Colombian	Colombia
Saudi Arabia	120,000[8]		Middle East
France	100,000[20][21]	225,000[8]	Europe	Lebanese French	France
Ecuador	98,000[8]		Latin America	Lebanese Ecuadorian	Ecuador
United Arab Emirates	80,000[22]		Middle East	Lebanese people in the United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates
Uruguay	53,000[8]	70,000[23]	Latin America	Lebanese Uruguayan	Uruguay
Germany	50,000[24]	70,000	Europe	Lebanese German	Germany
Ivory Coast	50,000[25]	90,000[26]	Sub-saharan Africa
New Zealand	45,300[8]		Oceania
Kuwait	40,500[8]	106,000[27]	Middle East
Senegal	30,000[28][29]		Sub-Saharan Africa	Lebanese Senegalese
South Africa	20,000[30]		Sub-Saharan Africa		South Africa
Caribbean[note 3]	545,200[8]		Latin America	Lebanese Jamaican	Caribbean  · Cuba  · Haiti  · Jamaica
Rest of Latin America, ex. Caribbean[note 4]	181,800[8]		Latin America	Lebanese Chilean** · Lebanese Surinamese	Chile  · Guatemala  · Dutch Antilles
Scandinavia	108,220[8]		Europe	Lebanese Swedish	Sweden  · Denmark
Rest of GCC[note 5]	105,000[8]		Middle East
Rest of Europe[note 6]	96,780[8]		Europe	Lebanese British  · Lebanese Bulgarian** · Lebanese Greek	Bulgaria  · Cyprus  · Germany  · Italy  · Monaco  · Netherlands  · Spain  · Switzerland  · UK
Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa[note 7]	42,510[8]		Sub-Saharan Africa	Lebanese Sierra Leonean	Ghana  · Sierra Leone
North Africa[note 8]	14,000[8]		North Africa		Egypt
Asia[note 9]	2,600[8]		Asia

Note: An important percentage of Arabs in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Portugal and Spain are of Lebanese ancestry. They are denoted ** for this purpose.

Notable persons of Lebanese descent

Prominent Lebanese Figures
وجوه من لبنان

Top row (left to right) Some of the figures are of Lebanese Descent, while others are Lebanese Citizens John Maron • Charbel Makhluf • Estephan El Douaihy • Elias Peter Hoayek • Youssef Karam • Former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun • Fairuz • Khalil Gibran • Former Lebanese President Bachir Gemayel • Carlos Slim • Sabah • Carlos Ghosn • Elie Saab • Charles Elachi • John Abizaid • John Abizaid • Elissa • Etienne Saqr • Donna Shalala • Ray LaHood • Michel Temer • U.S. Presidency Candidate Ralph Nader • Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih • Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir • Bechara Boutros al-Rahi • Lebanese President Michel Suleiman

Prominent members of the Lebanese diaspora include Presidents and Vice-Presidents, e.g. Julio Teodoro Salem, Abdalá Bucaram, Alberto Dahik, Jamil Mahuad (all in Ecuador), Jacobo Majluta Azar (Dominican Republic), Julio Cesar Turbay (Colombia) and Alberto Abdala (Uruguay). Other famous politicians include Phillip Habib US Politician and Peace Envoy, George J. Mitchell US Politician and Peace Envoy, Ralph Nader, 2004 and 2008 US presidential candidate, Edward Seaga Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Very famous businessmen of Lebanese descent include Carlos Slim Helú, Carlos Ghosn and Nicolas Hayek and famous names in entertainment like Danny Thomas, Salma Hayek, Shakira, Tony Shalhoub, Paul Anka and sportsmen like Mário Zagallo and Rony Seikaly.

See also

• Arab diaspora
• List of Lebanese people
• Lebanese nationality law
• LERC, an organization aimed at bringing together Lebanese youth with Lebanese youth living abroad.

External links

• The Lebanese Demographic Reality Lebanese Information Center, reviewed by Statistics Lebanon. 14 January 2013.
• KUSUMO, Fitra Ismu, "ISLAM EN AMERICA LATINA Tomo I: La expansión del Islam y su llegada a América Latina (Spanish Edition)"

• KUSUMO, Fitra Ismu, "ISLAM EN AMÉRICA LATINA Tomo II: Migración Árabe a América Latina y el caso de México (Spanish Edition)"

• KUSUMO, Fitra Ismu, "ISLAM EN AMÉRICA LATINA Tomo III: El Islam hoy desde América Latina (Spanish Edition)"

Notes

References

v t e Lebanese people and diaspora Countries Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador Jamaica Mexico Paraguay Suriname United States Uruguay Venezuela Europe Austria Bulgaria Denmark France Germany Greece Macedonia Netherlands Norway Romania Serbia Sweden United Kingdom Africa Côte d'Ivoire Egypt Ethiopia Ghana Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Asia Israel Turkey Oceania Australia New Zealand Personalities Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Caribbean (Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) Chile Colombia Cuba Ecuador Guatemala Mexico United States Uruguay Venezuela Europe Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark France Germany Italy Monaco Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Africa Egypt African Continent (Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa) Asia United Arab Emirates Oceania Australia

v t e Arab diaspora Africa Côte d'Ivoire Ghana Asia Afghanistan Indonesia Iran (Khorasan) Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Turkey Europe Austria Bulgaria Denmark France Germany (Berlin) Greece Macedonia Netherlands Romania Serbia Sweden Turkey United Kingdom Americas Canada Haiti Mexico United States (Detroit) Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Venezuela Oceania Australia New Zealand