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The last census in Lebanon was conducted in 1932, while the nation was under French mandate as Greater Lebanon. Since the independence of Lebanon in 1943, the country's politics has been deeply intertwined with its religious demographics. Based on data from the 1932 census, the National Pact established a multiconfessional state with governmental representation separated between religious groups: as an example, it was determined that there must be five Muslim public officers for every six Christian ones. As such, to maintain political stability, no official censuses have occurred since independence, even with vast demographic changes within the nation.

According to the census, Lebanon had 793,396 residents, with a slight Christian majority.Including emigrants and foreigners living in the republic, the total comes to 1,109,680 inhabitants. The census data has been criticized as being possibly biased towards Maronite populations, as has the decision to not conduct one since.

Background
After the formation of Greater Lebanon in September 1920 under the terms of the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, a census was carried out in the state in March 1921. The first census in the area of modern Lebanon, it was originally run solely for administrative purposes. Later, it was decided that everyone registered in the 1921 census would be considered as Lebanese, thus making them eligible to vote in elections. Resolution 2825, a formal citizenship criterion, was declared in 1924, stating that "any person who was a Turkish subject and resided in the territories of Greater Lebanon on 30 August 1924 is confirmed as a Lebanese subject and is regarded from now on as having lost the Turkish citizenship." As such, the 1932 census differentiates between emigrants present on Lebanese territory before that date and those who emigrated after.

No other censuses were conducted between 1921 and 1932. Charles Debbas, the first President of Lebanon, announced on 24 November 1931 that a census of Lebanese residents would be carried out; on 19 December, it was specified that emigrants would be enumerated as well. On 15 January 1932, Decree 8837 officially set rules detailing the process; while they were intended as guidelines for conducting the census, they were later interpreted as hard rules for granting Lebanese citizenship.

Data
The census recorded data on residents, emigrants, and foreigners inhabiting Lebanon. Enumerations by religious affiliation were provided for residents and emigrants but not foreigners; "foreigners" are described as "those who came to Lebanese territories after [30 August 1924], did not acquire Lebanese citizenship, and who are unable to prove their residence on Lebanese territory on the mentioned date". The census also recorded the taxpaying status of emigrants, as well as the sex of emigrants within each category. In total, there were 793,396 residents, 254,987 emigrants (of whom 186,984 arrived before August 1924 and 68,003 after), and 61,297 foreigners, for a total of 1,109,680 people.

Aftermath
Helpful sources: The Demography of Lebanon: A Reappraisal (same as the t&f link) and citations, Religion, Demography, and Politics in Lebanon

is, I guess, helpful for noting surveys afterwards

Bitter Pills (archive.org)

otherwise, see Maktabi, Economist, Nation

Criticisms
Given the unclear definition of "foreigner", interprets that residents unable to produce official documentation prior to 30 August 1924 were not considered as citizens of Lebanon, being left stateless.. Maktabi also notes the difficulty of nomandic Bedouin in proving that they "normally" resided on Lebanese land, a stipulation of Article 12 in Decree 8837.. The Bedouin and various Muslim refugee groups were also excluded from Article 13, which specifically allows "refugees from Turkish territories such as Armenians, Syriacs, Chaldeans, and [members of the Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches] or other person who are of Turkish origin" to be considered Lebanese. Maktabi hypothesizes that these and other deficiencies eventually became politically motivated to satisfy Maronite Christian leadership at the time, a sentiment echoed by The Nation.

Notes and references


Category:Demographics of Lebanon Category:1932 censuses