# Lebanon and Syria compared

Lebanon and Syria side by side: 40 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/lbn-vs-syr
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Lebanon: 1 September 1920 — General Gouraud proclaims the State of Greater Lebanon
- Syria: 8 March 1920 — The Arab Kingdom of Syria is proclaimed at Damascus

## Economy

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $20 B | 2023 | $24 B | 2022 |
| GDP per capita | $3,478 | 2023 | $1,052 | 2022 |
| GDP growth | -0.8% | 2023 | 0.7% | 2022 |
| Inflation | 45.2% | 2024 | 13.4% | 2019 |
| Trade openness | 104.2% | 2023 | 35.6% | 2022 |

## Society

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.8 m | 2024 | 25 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 77.9 yrs | 2024 | 72.6 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 90.7% | 2024 | 72.1% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.2 | 2024 | 2.7 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 43.3 | 2024 | 24.5 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 42.2 | 2024 | 25.4 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 29.4 | 2024 | 18.8 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 39.7 | 2024 | 23.4 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 38.3 | 2024 | 25.8 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 21.5 | 2024 | 13.4 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 5.6% | 2023 | 2.7% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 2.68 | 2020 | 1.52 | 2021 |
| Under-5 mortality | 17.6 | 2024 | 18.4 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 67.0% | 2024 | 81.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 47.7% | 2024 | — | — |

## Education

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 92.0% | 2019 | 94.4% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 1.2% | 2024 | 5.1% | 2009 |
| Primary enrolment | 81.8% | 2024 | 81.4% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 63.8% | 2024 | 38.7% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 54.4% | 2023 | 43.8% | 2016 |

## Technology

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 80.6% | 2024 | 33.8% | 2018 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 74 | 2022 | 71 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 2.9% | 2024 | 1.4% | 2010 |
| R&D spending | — | — | 0.0% | 2022 |
| Researchers (per million) | — | — | 140 | 2022 |

## Geography

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 10,230 km² | 2023 | 183,630 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 14.2% | 2023 | 2.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 65.9% | 2023 | 74.1% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.9 | 2024 | 1.3 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 6.8% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 6.4% | 2020 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 4.0% | 2020 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2020 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2020 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 88.4% | 2023 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 800 kt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Lebanon | Observed | Syria | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.6% | 2024 | 4.1% | 2010 |
| Defense spending | $635 M | 2024 | $2.5 B | 2011 |
| Armed forces | 80,000 | 2020 | 269,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/LBN.md and https://terralore.co/country/SYR.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1516: **Ottoman conquest of Syria** — The Ottomans defeat the Mamluks and take Syria and Lebanon, but leave Mount Lebanon largely to local emirs, allowing a semi-autonomous emirate to develop. (from the Lebanon chronicle; sources: History of Lebanon)
- 1840: **Fall of Bashir Shihab II** — After siding with Egypt's Ibrahim Pasha, the long-ruling emir Bashir Shihab II is deposed and exiled when Egyptian rule in Syria collapses, ending the autonomous emirate. (from the Lebanon chronicle; sources: Bashir Shihab II; History of Lebanon)
- 13 April 1975: **The Lebanese Civil War** — Fighting erupts in Beirut and escalates into a fifteen-year civil war that draws in Syria, Israel and many militias; deaths are estimated, very approximately, in the range of 120,000–150,000. (from the Lebanon chronicle; sources: Lebanese Civil War; Lebanon: The National Pact (Lebanon: A Country Study))
- 14 February 2005: **Hariri assassination and the Cedar Revolution** — A car bomb kills former prime minister Rafic Hariri and others; mass protests known as the Cedar Revolution lead Syria to withdraw its forces after nearly thirty years. (from the Lebanon chronicle; sources: Rafiq al-Hariri; Assassination of Rafik Hariri (2005); Lebanon: Lebanon's Second Republic since 1990)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/LBN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SYR/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Lebanon and Syria compared", terralore.co/compare/lbn-vs-syr, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.