Lebanese diaspora refers to Lebanesemigrants and their descendants who emigrated from Lebanon and now reside in other countries. There are more people of Lebanese origin living outside Lebanon than within the country (4.6 million citizens). The diaspora population consists of Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Jews. The Christians trace their origin to several waves of emigration, starting with the exodus that followed the 1860 Lebanon conflict in Ottoman empire.
Under the current Lebanese nationality law, the Lebanese diaspora do not have an automatic right to return to Lebanon. Varying degrees of assimilation and a high degree of inter-ethnic marriages in the Lebanese diaspora communities, regardless of religious affiliation, have caused many of the Lebanese diaspora not to have passed fluency in Arabic to their children, although most still maintain a Lebanese national identity. Several factors have caused Lebanese emigration, including civil wars, attacks on Lebanese sovereignty and land by Israel and Syria, and political and economic crises.
The largest diaspora by far resides in Brazil, with between 5 and 7 million, followed by Colombia and Argentina, with about 1 to 3 million each.
Although there are no reliable figures, the diaspora is estimated to be around 4[7][8][9] to 14 million people,[10][6][11] far more than the internal population of Lebanon of around 4.6 million citizens in 2020.[6][12] According to other estimates, the number of Lebanese living outside the country is thought to at least double the number of citizens living inside,[10] which means at least 8 million people. Of the diaspora, 1.2 million are Lebanese citizens.[1]
The Lebanese diaspora has always been a target to the Lebanese state to create institutional connection. In 1960 the World Lebanese Cultural Union was established under the authority of the President Fouad Chehab.[13]
France has always been an important destination for the Lebanese diaspora, because Lebanon used to be administrated by the french after WWI and because French language is massively spoken in Lebanon.[14][15][16]
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, according to some sources, at least 6 million Brazilians of Lebanese ancestry, making Brazil's population of Lebanese greater than the entire population of Lebanon.[17] According to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East.[18]
Lebanese diaspora is often viewed as one of the most successful and influential diasporas in the world. [20] Many Lebanese entrepreneurs and business people worldwide have proved very successful in all kinds of sectors and contexts. Lebanese abroad are considered "rich, educated and influential."[21]Remittances from Lebanese abroad to family members within the country were estimated at $8.9 billion in 2014 and accounted for 18% of the country's economy.[22] However, there remains a great untapped potential for further collaboration and cooperation between the diaspora and the Lebanese in their home country. Foreign direct investment is below 7% of the GDP, and almost half the Lebanese population is in tertiary education.
Throughout its history, the Lebanese diaspora used the Lebanese identity to create strong networks to help its members out. Over the course of time, immigration has indeed yielded Lebanese "commercial networks" throughout the world.[23] Lebanese migrants play an important role in assisting Lebanon and its people through financial support, touristic visits, starting businesses and trades.[24]
In West Africa, dozens of Lebanese entrepreneurs have established diverse business concerns in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and other countries, and are viewed as business dynasties contributing to the development of the local economies in the region.[25]
The list below contains approximate figures for people of full or partial Lebanese descent by country of residence, largely taken from the iLoubnan diaspora map.[26] 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. The figure below uses the data from the list and calculates the amount of Lebanese residents as a percentage of the total population of the respective country.
2,000,000 according to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East[18]
The Lebanese government increasingly sees the diaspora as a critical resource for investment and new immigrants. A 2016 television ad tried to entice Lebanese in the United States to move to Lebanon to help improve the standard of living.[67]
The Lebanese government launched the DiasporaID program in August 2017 to better connect Lebanese abroad to Lebanon itself. Funding for the project was provided by USAID with an objective of improving foreign investment in Lebanon.[68][69]
On August 8, 2017, Lebanese President Michel Aoun advocated children of Lebanese in the diaspora take on Lebanese citizenship during a speech to the Maronite Diaspora Institution at Baabda Palace.[70]
Lebanese cuisine has engrained itself as a staple in a multitude of cultures, wherever people from the Lebanese diaspora emigrated.[80] Examples include Brazil,[81] Canada [82] and the United States. [83] The language of food can contribute to feelings of cultural belonging, as shown through literary analysis.[84] It has served as both a source of identity and income for people of the Lebanese diaspora everywhere around the world.[85]
^The Lebanese community in Israel mostly consists of members of Antoine Lahad's Militia who continued to live in and receive salaries from the state of Israel since their group was disbanded in 2000.
^Skulte-Ouaiss, Jennifer; Tabar, Paul (4 May 2015). "Strong in Their Weakness or Weak in Their Strength? The Case of Lebanese Diaspora Engagement with Lebanon". Immigrants & Minorities. 33 (2): 141–164. doi:10.1080/02619288.2013.877347. S2CID145242533.
^"Estimación de la mortalidad, 1985–2005" [Estimation of mortality, 1985–2005] (PDF). Postcensal Studies (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: DANE. March 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
^Arias, Juan (10 April 2015). "O cardeal Temer". El País Brasil (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^Hourani, Albert, Nadim Shehadi, and Centre for Lebanese Studies. 1992. The Lebanese in the World: A Century of Emigration. London, UK: Centre for Lebanese Studies in association with I.B. Tauris.
^Karam, John Tofik. 2007. Another Arabesque: Syrian-Lebanese Ethnicity in Neoliberal Brazil. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
^Lefort, Bruno. 2023. “Conflicted Identities: Negotiating Belonging among Young People from the Lebanese Diasporas in Montreal.” Ethnopolitics 22 (4): 435–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2023.2199610.
^Rowe, Amy E. 2012. “Mint Grows Through the Cracks in the Foundation: Food Practices of the Assimilated Lebanese Diaspora in New England (USA).” Food and Foodways 20 (3–4): 211–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/07409710.2012.715964.
^Hout, Syrine. 2021. “Having the Cake and Eating It Too: The Secret Ingredients of Code-Switching in A Girl Made of Dust.” College Literature 48 (1): 83–110. https://doi.org/10.1353/lit.2021.0003
^Helou, Anissa. 2018. Feast: Food of the Islamic World. First edition. New York, NY: Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.