Country name: Conventional long form: Lebanese Republic conventional Short form: Lebanon Government type: Republic. Capital: Beirut. Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria. Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E. Map references: Middle East. Area: Total: 10,452 Km². Km land: 10,230 Km². Water: 170 Km². Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 Km. Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration). National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943). Constitution: 23 May 1926. Legal system: Napoleonic code and civil law based with few reminescence from the Ottoman law. Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education Elections: - President elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term. - Prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly Flag description: Three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band. Economic Information: GDP: purchasing power parity $15.8 billion (1998 est.) GDP: real growth rate :3% (1998 est.) GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $4,500 (1998 est.) GDP: composition by sector: Agriculture: 4% Industry: 23% Services: 73% (1997 est.) Industries: Banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (£L) per US$1 - 1,508.0 (January 1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997), 1,571.4 (1996), 1,621.4 (1995), 1,680.1 (1994) Exports commodities: Foodstuffs and tobacco 20%, textiles 12%, Chemicals 11%, metal and metal products 11%, Electrical equipment and products 10%, jewelry 10%, paper and paper products 8% (1997) Imports commodities: Foodstuffs 29%, machinery and transport equipment 28%, consumer goods 18%, chemicals 9%, textiles 5%, metals 5%, fuels 3%, agricultural foods 3% (1997)