Society

Around 3.8 million Lebanese as well as an additional 2 million refugees and immigrants, mostly coming from neighboring Syria and Palestine, are living in the country. Representing about 4% of the size of Egypt (10,452 square kilometers), Lebanon counts more than 18 different denominations under both Christian and Muslim umbrellas, and other minority religious affiliations. Although Arabic is Lebanon’s official language, French is a recognized language, and English is widely spoken among millennials and adults in multiple parts of the country; this is not to mention other languages spoken by particular subgroups in the country, such as the Armenian minority. With rich linguistic diversity, sectarian fragility, and political unrest, access to the media is engulfed in a reality whereby it is not equally available to all factions of Lebanese society, and at times not accessible to many.

According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Lebanon’s adult literacy rate was estimated at 95.3% in the latest available figures from 2019 (15 years and above). While the male literacy rate is 97% and the female literacy rate is 93.6%. However, according to the UN Human Development Index (2014) there is an alarming discrepancy between urban and rural regions). Adult literacy is highest in Beirut, where only 6.1% of the population cannot read by adulthood. In more rural regions such as the Bekaa (east of the country), this percentage is estimated at almost 17%.

Although Lebanon currently seems more liberal when it comes to freedom of the press and media compared to most other countries in the MENA region, it is not necessarily a result of laws or societal realities. Media in Lebanon is still governed by outdated laws deeply rooted in the sectarian and political divides. In fact, the nature of Lebanese media mirrors the nature of the society it covers – often lacking transparency, independence, reliability or objectivity.

It is worth mentioning that the nature of Lebanese media, as well as its political angles, do not only affect Lebanese inside Lebanon, but other communities within its borders. It also shapes the general perception of the vast Lebanese diaspora – estimated between 4 to 14 million – among their host societies and potential Lebanese returnees.

In 2019, 86% of adults in Lebanon owned a smartphone and already had access to the Internet through their mobiles, which revolutionized information. By early 2021, the number of social media users in Lebanon had been equivalent to 64.3% of the total population. In the past decade, despite the limitations and economic crises which naturally inhibit the import of key technologies, digital media literacy has made a significant leap in Lebanon, from being practically unheard of to being promoted by civil society, academics, and universities, even finding its way into some schools as an extracurricular activity. 

With the advent of the Internet also came user-generated content with a wave of bloggers, citizen journalists, and media literate people who were seeking change in Lebanese media and reporting in general.