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Location of Lebanon on the globe

Lebanon

LB

Western Asia

Lebanon is home to 6 documented ethnic groups in Western Asia — led by Lebanese Arab (~87%), Palestinian (~5%), Armenian Lebanon (~4%), Druze (~3%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Lebanese ArabLebanese Arab87.0%Estimated; Lebanon has not conducted a comprehensive census since 1932 — composition derived from international demographic estimates plus academic sources. Lebanese Arab (~87%) is the dominant ethno-linguistic identification, divided across multiple religious-sectarian sub-populations (Sunni Muslim ~31%, Shia Muslim ~31%, Maronite Catholic ~21%, Greek Orthodox ~8%, Druze separately enumerated, plus Greek Catholic, Protestant, Armenian, plus other Christian sub-populations)
PalestinianPalestinian5.0%UNRWA Lebanon plus academic estimates; Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (~5%, ~470,000+ registered with UNRWA, with substantially smaller actually-resident population estimated at ~175,000-250,000 due to undocumented departures). Concentrated in 12 official refugee camps with substantial restrictions on civil rights, employment, and property ownership
Armenian LebanonArmenian Lebanon4.0%Estimates; Lebanese Armenians (~4%, ~150,000+); descendants of post-1915 Armenian Genocide survivors who settled in Lebanon plus subsequent immigration. Concentrated in Bourj Hammoud (the historic Armenian-Lebanese neighborhood east of Beirut) plus other communities. Predominantly Armenian Apostolic Christian
DruzeDruze3.0%Estimates; Lebanese Druze (~3%, ~280,000+); concentrated in the Mount Lebanon governorate plus the Chouf, Aley, plus Hasbaya regions. The largest national Druze population (vs Syria, Israel)
Syrian LebanonSyrian Lebanon2.0%UNHCR Lebanon plus academic estimates; Syrian refugees in Lebanon (~2%, ~785,000+ registered with UNHCR as of 2024 plus substantial unregistered). The post-2011 Syrian refugee population has produced substantial demographic disruption — Lebanon hosts the highest per-capita refugee population globally
Lebanon OtherLebanon Other2.0%Residual; includes Lebanese-Kurd (small community), Iraqi refugees, Egyptian and Syrian and South-Asian migrant workers, Filipino domestic workers, Ethiopian and Sri Lankan domestic workers (substantial population), plus other smaller groups

Lebanon Phenotype Profile

Lebanon has a distinctive demographic structure with substantial religious-sectarian diversity — the Lebanese-Arab majority (~87%) is itself divided across multiple religious-sectarian sub-populations (Sunni, Shia, Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Protestant) plus the substantial Armenian (~4%), Palestinian (~5%, refugees), Druze (~3%), Syrian (~2%, refugees), and other (~2%) communities. The country's demographic structure reflects approximately 5,000+ years of population processes anchored on the broader Levantine demographic substrate (Phoenician, Aramean, Greek, Roman, Byzantine source populations) plus the post-7th-c. Arabization plus the substantial 19th-c. and 20th-c. emigration history (the Lebanese global diaspora of ~10-14M+ substantially exceeds the source-country population). The 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War produced substantial demographic disruption; the post-2011 Syrian refugee inflow has produced further disruption.

Genome-wide studies (Haber et al. 2017) place Lebanese populations as showing substantial continuity with Bronze-Age Phoenician / Levantine source populations — Lebanese Christians, Muslims, and Druze populations show subtle but detectable population-genetic distinctness reflecting the historical religious-endogamous marriage patterns. Skin tone Fitzpatrick II-IV modal III, hair predominantly wavy to curly black to dark brown, characteristic Levantine features with substantial light-eye frequencies in some sub-populations. Adult Lebanese male mean stature approximately 173-176 cm.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Lebanon population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are estimated based on international demographic sources. Lebanon has not conducted a comprehensive census since 1932 — the political-sectarian sensitivity of religious demographic distribution has prevented census enumeration that would update the (substantially-outdated) 1932 census distribution that continues to inform the Lebanese sectarian-confessional political system. Caveats: (1) the lack of recent census means demographic estimates are approximate; (2) the substantial post-1975 emigration has substantially reduced source-country Lebanese population from earlier peaks; (3) the post-2011 Syrian refugee inflow has produced substantial demographic disruption; (4) the substantial Lebanese global diaspora exceeds the source-country population.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Central Administration of Statistics Lebanon. Lebanon Demographic Statistics 2024. Beirut: CAS; 2024.
  2. 2.Haber M, Doumet-Serhal C, Scheib C, et al. Continuity and admixture in the last five millennia of Levantine history from ancient Canaanite and present-day Lebanese genome sequences. Am J Hum Genet. 2017;101(2):274-282.
  3. 3.Salibi K. A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. University of California Press; 1988.
  4. 4.Traboulsi F. A History of Modern Lebanon (2nd ed). Pluto Press; 2012.
  5. 5.United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Syria Regional Refugee Response: Lebanon. Geneva: UNHCR; 2024.

Other countries in Western Asia

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Western Asia nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Western Asiaethnic groups & countries →