The Lebanese are the most pessimistic about the economic future of their country among all the countries included in the sixth cycle of the Arab Barometer between 2020 and spring 2021, a website specialized in statistics.

Of all the economic concerns, the rising cost of living is the biggest challenge. It is not surprising that about half of the citizens, or 48% of them, seek to leave their country in search of better opportunities abroad. However, when asked about the main reason for the desire to emigrate, it became clear from the responses of the Lebanese that the economic conditions (7%) are not the main reason. However, the most common motive was corruption (44%), then security considerations (29%) and political reasons (22%), which means that citizens have greater frustration with the political system.

Contrary to the majority of countries included in the survey, there was no significant difference between the sexes in terms of the desire to emigrate, with 49% of men and 46% of women wanting to leave their country. However, almost two-thirds (63%) of young people between 18 and 29 years of age wish to emigrate, and the most likely reason is the lack of hope for their future inside Lebanon.
Lebanon is also at risk of a brain drain, as 61% of university degree holders want to emigrate, compared to 37% of those with only a secondary education or less.

The stifling economic crisis has pushed about 80% of citizens into poverty, which has led to a significant increase in immigration rates, including illegal immigration by perilous sea voyages.

In the fall of 2018, 26% of Lebanese expressed their desire to leave the country. According to the website’s statistics, 12% of the Lebanese are willing to leave the country even if they do not have the documents required to allow them to do so, with a slight difference in favor of men, where their percentage reached 14% compared to women, whose percentage reached 9%.
So Lebanon will soon be without Lebanese…