FACTS

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Area (only Total) total: 10,400 sq km

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Population: 3,971,941 (July 2008 est.)

Main Language (only first): Arabic

Government type: republic

Capital (Name): Beirut

Capital (Time Difference): UTC+2

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)