SURVEY OF LEBANESE CITIZENS’ PRIORITY CONCERNS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

SURVEY OF LEBANESE CITIZENS’ PRIORITY
CONCERNS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT

8 July 2012

This document was produced by Management Systems International for the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID).

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Survey of Lebanese citizen’s priority concerns and attitudes towards civic engagement

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 4
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 10
CITIZEN CONCERNS ................................................................................................................................... 11
1. Challenges and Problems for the Country and Community ............................................................. 11
1.1 National challenges and problems................................................................................................ 11
1.2 Community challenges and problems........................................................................................... 14
2. Social Problems and Challenges........................................................................................................ 15
2.1 Very Important Social Problems and Challenges .......................................................................... 16
2.2 Most Important Social Problem or Challenge ............................................................................... 18
3. Political Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 19
3.1 Very Important Political Challenges .............................................................................................. 19
3.2 Most Important Political Challenge .............................................................................................. 20
4. Economic Challenges ........................................................................................................................ 21
4.1 Very Important Economic Challenges ........................................................................................... 21
4.2 – Most important economic challenge ......................................................................................... 22
5. Environmental Challenges ................................................................................................................ 23
5.1 Very Important Environmental Challenges ................................................................................... 23
5.2 Most important Environmental Challenges .................................................................................. 23
ATTITUDES TOWARDS INSTITUTIONS, CITIZENSHIP, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT .............................................. 25
6. Vulnerable Groups ............................................................................................................................ 25
7. Making a Difference .......................................................................................................................... 25
8. Confidence in Institutions to Solve Problems and Representativeness of Institutions .................... 25
9. Political parties and elections ........................................................................................................... 27
10. Civil Society Organizations .............................................................................................................. 27
11. Cross-confessional relations ........................................................................................................... 29
MEDIA USAGE ........................................................................................................................................... 30
12. Media Use and Information Sources .............................................................................................. 30
13. Usage of internet ............................................................................................................................ 32
SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHICS AND SURVEY METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 33
14. Survey Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 36
ANNEX A – SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ....................................................................................................... 39
ANNEX B – List of major problems at the national level ........................................................................... 49
ANNEX C- List of major problems at the community level ....................................................................... 51
ANNEX D-REGROUPING OF TOPICS .......................................................................................................... 53
ANNEX E – Cross-tabulations .................................................................................................................... 57

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Table of Graphs and Figures
1. Major Problems at the National Level .................................................................................................................. 12
2. Major Problems at the National Level, Regrouped ............................................................................................... 12
3. Major Problems Facing the Community ................................................................................................................ 14
4. Major Problems Facing the Community, Regrouped ............................................................................................ 14
6. Very Important Social Challenges ......................................................................................................................... 16
7. Most important social challenge........................................................................................................................... 18
8. Very important political challenges ...................................................................................................................... 19
9. Most Important Political Challenges ..................................................................................................................... 20
10. Most Important Economic Challenge .................................................................................................................. 22
11. Very important economic challenges .................................................................................................................. 23
12. Most Important Environmental Challenges ........................................................................................................ 24
13. Vulnerable Groups .............................................................................................................................................. 25
14. Making a Difference ............................................................................................................................................ 25
15. Degree of Confidence in Institutions ................................................................................................................... 26
16. Representativeness of institutions ...................................................................................................................... 26
17. Degree of Confidence in Institutions per region .................................................................................................. 68
18. Civil Society Organizations’ Success and Effectiveness ....................................................................................... 28
19. Type of Support for Civil Society Initiatives ......................................................................................................... 28
20. Types of Cooperation across Confessions ........................................................................................................... 29
21. Basis of Cooperation across Confessions ............................................................................................................ 29
22. Media Use ........................................................................................................................................................... 30
23. Frequency as a Source of Information ................................................................................................................ 30
24. National-Level Sources of Information ................................................................................................................ 31
25. Local Sources of Information............................................................................................................................... 31
26. Media Outlets Used for National Information .................................................................................................... 31
27. Media Outlets used for Local Information .......................................................................................................... 32
28. Connecting to the Internet – Uses ....................................................................................................................... 32
29. Social Media Sites ............................................................................................................................................... 32

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report from a survey of Lebanese citizen’s priority concerns and attitudes towards civic
engagement is produced by the Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (PACE) program under
funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The survey was carried out by Statistics Lebanon Ltd in March and April 2012, covering both
urban and rural areas and all governorates. A nationally-representative sample of 2,000
Lebanese people aged 16 and above was interviewed with a face-to-face questionnaire mixing
open and closed questions. The data are disaggregated by age, sex, district, income level,
employment status and confession. The poll researched Lebanese citizens’ opinions and
perceptions regarding the following:

a) Main concerns among the Lebanese public relating to political, economic,
environmental and social issues on both the national and community levels
b) Attitudes toward civic/political engagement
c) Level of the public’s confidence in the capacity of various institutions, including civil
society organizations (CSOs), to represent them
d) The public’s view of CSOs
e) Sources of news and information for the public and level of trust in each
f) Frequency of internet and social media usage.

The survey’s main findings are:

A. Main concerns:
When asked to provide, unprompted, up to three issues they consider as main national and
local concerns, respondents cite:

Top 5 concerns at National and Community Level- Uncategorized
National % Community %
High cost of living 31.5 Electricity 36
Political situation 29 High cost of living 31.5
Economic situation 23 Unemployment 22
Security situation 22 Poverty 13
Electricity 20 Water problems 11.5
In % of responses

Because the Lebanese name such a large number of major challenges both at the national and
community level, many of which overlap, such as the high cost of living, cost of education, cost
of housing, high fuel prices etc., this report regrouped the spontaneous responses into seven
general categories, providing a sufficient number of cases for more in-depth analysis:

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Main concerns expressed by the citizens, regrouped in general categories
84%
National Community

59%
55%
50% 47%
44% 45% 45%
36%
23%
18% 16% 16%
11%

Political Social Infrastructure Economic / High Security Political Economic /
Institutions cost of living Outcomes General

In a country plagued by political and economic instability, it is not surprising that the economic
situation topped the list of national-level concerns mentioned spontaneously by the
respondents, followed by the political situation and security. Social concerns are less
prominent, particularly at the national level, while the environment is mentioned only once,
with pollution being at the very low end of the hierarchy of community concerns. At the
community level priorities change markedly. The top concerns mentioned are those that strike
close to home: infrastructure (especially electricity), cost of living, unemployment, and social
issues. Politics and security were not cited as main community concerns. When they are
mentioned as a community challenge, this is in reference to national politics. This suggests
that the March 8-March 14 polemic so pervasive at the national level may be less relevant at
the local level.
A further exploration of people’s views on a given list of issues provides a better
understanding of what lies behind those broadly-defined top concerns:

SECTOR TOP 3 MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES
Social • Drugs (27%)
• Corruption in society (16%)
• Sectarianism (11%)
Political • Security and safety (23%)
• Political stability (18%)
• Corruption in government (14%)
Economy • Poverty (24%)
• Finding job opportunities (23%)
• Cost of living (18%)
Environment • Alternative energy sources (24%)
• Quarries (18%)
• Deforestation (17%)
Those guided responses are consistent with respondents’ unprompted choices. There is one
exception: although public infrastructure was the topic spontaneously cited most often, it
does not belong to the top three most important social issues cited. This might be because,
when it comes to social issues, respondents prioritize those that affect as much their values as
their lives.

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B. Main concerns, disaggregated per sub-groups of population.
The Lebanese demonstrate common concerns on a large number of issues, whatever their
background. Some differences appear when it comes to confessional groups or regional
belonging. When they exist, socio-economic variations seem to be mainly explained by
geography, showing often a divide between the North, Mount Lebanon and Beirut on one side
and Nabatieh, the Bekaa and the South on the other. The Bekaa appears often to be the most
atypical amongst governorates. When they exist, socio-political variations seem to be
explained by confessional belonging, with the Shiites often apart from the views of other
confessions. Nevertheless, many issues show a high level of consensus. Amongst them are the
high cost of living, unemployment, poor infrastructure (most notably electricity), corruption,
political instability, and sectarianism.
This is also evident when looking at other categories of population. There are no major
differences in the hierarchy of priorities between urban and rural populations save for some
predictable topics such as the cost of housing. The same can be observed when data are
disaggregated by gender, although differences appear on very specific issues linked to
women’s rights, such as gender-based violence or a women’s quota in parliament. There is no
visible generation gap. All age groups share the same concerns, except for unemployment, to
which youth give a higher priority. Youth do not appear more “progressive” than earlier
generations, even on social issues such as the place of women in political life, drugs, the
environment or political issues. Poor people are more likely to mention issues related to the
high cost of living or infrastructure but are less concerned about social challenges or security.

C. Attitudes towards institutions and civil society

82% Degree of Confidence in Institutions Great deal of confidence
No confidence
60%
54% 54%
46% 44% 45%
39%
34%
20% 20% 18%
11% 14% 12% 10% 8%
4%

Lebanese Civil Society General Police/law The Judicial Local/city The parliamentPolitical parties Government
Armed Forces organizations Security enforcement System government
(NGOs)

• The institution that enjoys the highest level of confidence from a majority of the
population is the Lebanese Armed Forces, largely perceived as non-partisan. Other
institutions related to security enjoy also a fair level of confidence, suggesting that the
Lebanese have general confidence in the security services to protect the people,
considering that security was cited as one of their main concerns.
• Civil society organizations (CSOs) are the second most trusted institution, scoring above
80% (when adding responses “great deal of” and “some degree of” confidence). This
level of trust is highest amongst Christians and Sunnis and lowest amongst Shiites. They
are mostly seen as relief providers. This seems to show greater Lebanese confidence in
and reliance upon CSOs to provide services that the national and local governments
cannot or do not provide effectively.

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• While 48% show confidence at some level in the local government, only 10% view it as
one of the institutions that best represents their interests.
• The level of distrust is particularly high for national, political institutions such as the
parliament, the government and political parties, which should be the institutions in
charge of responding to citizens’ other main concerns: the economy, infrastructure and
political stability. This appears reflected in the fact that 58% of respondents consider
that no political party represents their views and in the decrease in their intention to
vote in the next parliamentary elections (59.6%), in comparison to the 78.6% who
voted in the last parliamentary elections in 2009.
All of this suggests both a growing disconnect and dissatisfaction between the citizenry and
the institutions responsible for responding to their concerns and an overall disillusioned view
of citizens’ capacity to bring change through elections, possibly due to the high level of
political polarization in the country. Such findings are consistent with those from the Arab
Barometer’s latest study, suggesting that these views are well entrenched.
More specifically, respondents’ views on civil society are:
• Civil society is considered effective by 81% of the population. This perception is highest
among Christians and urban populations and lowest amongst Shiites and rural
populations.
• 16.5% are unable to mention a single CSO by name.
• The Lebanese Red Cross is the only organization that enjoys a wide level of recognition
and is considered to represent best the population’s concerns. It is followed distantly
by charitable nation-wide organizations, then by many local religious and charitable
institutions, cited only by a few persons.
• The most frequently cited CSOs are those that combine a regular presence in the media
and a focus on relief work. Advocacy-oriented NGOs and nation-wide, non-relief
oriented organizations are mentioned spontaneously by very few respondents,
although some are well-known and would most likely have been recognized if they had
been cited in the questionnaire.
• The main mode of support is through donations.
All of this suggests a perception of CSOs as relief charities, rather than vehicles to carry the
voice of citizens, advocating on the people’s behalf for better policies on the topics that
matter most to them. CSOs intending to mobilize citizens around changing policies will need to
make active efforts to build an effective and engaged constituency. This is particularly the case
in the Bekaa, which shows the least favorable attitudes towards civil society of all
governorates.

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D. Civic engagement

Making a difference
61%
53% Community level National Level

25%
21%
16%
13%
6% 5%
1% 1%

I can’t make a change I can somewhat make a I can make an average I can make a big change. Don’t know, no answer
change change

• 61% of respondents feel they cannot make a change on the topics they have identified
as priorities, which may reflect the disconnect noted above between the citizenry and
institutions. This percentage is still 53% at the community level, where one could have
expected citizens would feel more involved and able to effect local change.
• Youth are no more confident in their capacity to make a change than their parents or
grand-parents.
• Despite the fact that women equally participated in the last municipal and
parliamentary elections, they are less likely to cite their will to participate in the
upcoming elections (57%) compared to 63% of men.
All of this points to a strong need to revive the interest of the Lebanese, and particularly that
of youth and women, in participating in the public decisions that affect their daily lives. Given
its positive image, civil society could play a role in this regard, both at the local level and
through advocacy with national institutions. As noted above, this would require continuous
effort on its part to build and motivate a constituency.
There is a strong willingness to cooperate with persons from other confessions (89%), mostly
through dialogue (80%). People engage with other confessions based on proximity: being
neighbors, colleagues or school friends. Tellingly, only 3% would engage with other
confessions based on shared political views. This shows a potential readiness to cooperate
across confessional lines at the community level, which could be harnessed by a non-
confessional civil society, given the overall positive image of CSOs.

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E. Media Usage
89% 87% Daily Moderate use Don’t use / Rarely use
74%

57%
51%
41%

27%
16% 15%
8% 11% 8% 11%
3% 2%

Watch TV Use a cell phone Use the internet Listen to the radio Read the newspaper

• The Lebanese are mostly viewers of television, with 89% watching TV daily. This is also
by far their primary source of information. The main channels for local or national news
in terms of viewership are LBCI, New TV, and MTV. Other types of media are used
much less frequently.
• Although internet is used by only 50% of the population, almost two thirds of its users
access information through it.
• Radio is used daily by only 27% of the population and not considered as a major source
of information. Printed press fares even worse, with only 11% of daily readers, out of
which a mere 20% considers it as a source of information.
• Social media is the most frequent usage of internet, at 86%. Facebook is the social
media of choice (97%), followed distantly by MSN (24%) and Twitter (11%).
This indicates strongly that any media outreach to the population should use television and
web-based media. Engaging with radio channels or print media may only be effective if they
have also an online presence or intend to build one, particularly if they reinforce their news
contents such as with citizen journalism, a resource that most traditional media have not yet
tapped into.

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INTRODUCTION

This report was produced by the Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (PACE) program,
funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The PACE
program aims at building the capacity of Lebanese civil society organizations (CSOs) to act as
catalysts for change through civic advocacy and participation that contributes to a cohesive
national identity while preserving Lebanon’s social and political pluralism. The program
empowers Lebanese civil society so that it can increase civic advocacy, activism, and
participation through grants that respond to citizen concerns.

Statistics Lebanon Ltd carried out the survey. A nationally-representative sample of 2,000
people was surveyed around the country. Through this survey, PACE seeks to gain a better
understanding of public perceptions and attitudes as they relate to social, economic, and
political conditions; civic participation and advocacy; and media, social media, and internet
usage. This will also assist the PACE team in identifying a set of priority citizen concerns to be
targeted by the program through grants, training, and technical assistance to Lebanese CSOs
across the country.

This opinion poll aims at illustrating Lebanese opinions and perceptions regarding the
following:

• Main concerns among the Lebanese public relating to political, economic,
environmental and social issues on both the national and community levels
• Attitudes toward civic/political engagement
• Level of the public’s confidence in the capacity of various institutions, including civil
society organizations (CSOs), to represent them
• The public’s view of CSOs
• Sources of news and information for the public
• Their level of trust in the different sources
• Frequency and main reasons for internet usage
• Frequency and main reasons for usage of social media tools

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CITIZEN CONCERNS

1. Challenges and Problems for the Country and Community
1.1 National challenges and problems
The survey’s first question asked Lebanese what the major problems and challenges are in their
country, prompting respondents for up to three responses. Economic, security and political
challenges lead the list, followed by electricity. Social challenges are mentioned much less frequently
and environmental issues do not appear. Breaking down responses by sex, age, income level, level of
education, or urban vs. rural shows no major differences. Different confessions view those national
challenges in the same order of priority, with some variations in intensity. Variations appear
between confessional groups but the most significant ones appear between governorates.
The high cost of living is foremost in the minds of Lebanese citizens, mentioned by 32% of all Lebanese,
to which one can add the specific mention of high fuel prices (6%).
Next on the list is the country’s political situation, mentioned by 29% of all respondents, without
specifying any particular aspect of it. Linked to this issue are specific politico-social challenges, such as
corruption, mentioned by 16%, and confessionalism, named by 14%.
The general economic situation is third on the list, with 23%. As with the political situation, many
Lebanese also mentioned specific economic problems, such as unemployment, named in 19% of the
responses, and poverty, mentioned in 11% of the responses.
The fourth highest ranked major problem is the country’s security situation, mentioned by 22% of the
population. Unlike the general “economic situation” and “political situation” responses, Lebanese did
not frequently name specific threats with great frequency. However, two more-specific security issues,
the threat posed by Israel (6%), and foreign intervention (6%) did receive some mention.
After naming these multi-faceted, complex, and all-encompassing issues, the fifth most frequently
mentioned challenge at 20%, is a specific infrastructure problem—electricity. One public health issue is
also mentioned with a frequency >5%: deterioration of food and food safety 1 (5% and 2% respectively).

1
“Deterioration of food” and “food safety” are listed separately in the survey results. However, given the media
prominence of the recent food quality scandal, these separate responses are likely referring to the same issue
and will be treated jointly in this report.
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The table below lists all issues spontaneously mentioned by at least 5% of all respondents (see
Annex B for full details).

1. Major Problems at the National Level
Major Problems or Challenges Facing Lebanon at the National Level
(Top of Mind – Volunteered Responses > 5%)
%
High cost of Living 32
Political situation 29
Economic situation 23
Security situation 22
Electricity problems 20
Unemployment 19
Political corruption 16
Confessionalism 14
Poverty 11
Food safety/deterioration of food 7
High fuel prices 6
Israeli threat 6
Foreign interventions 6
Because the Lebanese name such a large number of major problems or challenges facing the nation,
many of which overlap, such as the economic situation, the high cost of living, unemployment, poverty,
and high fuel prices, this report has regrouped the spontaneous responses (including those mentioned
by less than 5% of the respondents) into seven general categories, as illustrated by the graph below.
They provide a sufficient number of cases for more in-depth analysis.

2. Major Problems at the National Level, Regrouped

59% 55% Major Challenges Facing Lebanon at the National Level
(Top of Mind - Volunteered Responses Regrouped)
45% 45%
36%
23%
18%

Political Economic / Economic / High Security Infrastructure Social Political
Outcomes General cost of living Institutions

Problems and challenges to the nation that relate to political outcomes rank first in citizens’ minds
(59% of respondents). These problems include topics such as the general political situation, corruption,
the situation in Syria, nepotism, lack of political unity and the absence of the state. This is followed by
general economic problems, such as the overall economic situation, unemployment, low salaries and
poverty; and by responses that mentioned high costs, such as the high cost of living of public services
or high fuel prices. Looking at those two topics together, it is clear that, by far, the economy is the
nation’s top concern.
The security situation includes issues such as the general security situation, the Israeli threat, foreign
intervention, and illegal arms or border demarcation. Apart from electricity, infrastructure issues
include roads, infrastructure in general, and water problems. Social issues cover topics such as food
safety, drugs, emigration, crime, and lack of morals. Political institutions include responses such as
confessionalism, political parties or electoral reform.

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Variations according to sub-categories of population
Confession
Different confessions 2 rank national challenges in a similar order of priority, from political outcomes
and economic issues as their main concerns down to social issues and political institutions perceived as
least challenging. Differences are mostly variations in intensity. For instance, Sunnis and Shiites (22%)
are more likely to say that the category of political institutions is a national challenge than Christians
(13%), but they all share the same opinion that political institutions are the least important of the main
national challenges. Conversely, 66% of Shiites cite the general economy, against 51% of Christians.
This makes it the Shiites’ top concern but is also the Christians’ second highest concern.
Some of those variations may also reflect more the respondents’ environment than their confessional
affiliations. For instance, it is likely that economic concerns are highest for Shiites because Shiites tend
to live in the governorates where where such concerns are prevalent, i.e. the Bekaa and the South (see
following section).
(See table in Annex E for details)

Region
Regional variations appear significantly more marked than confessional ones. Beirutis are most likely to
name the high cost of living (60%). People from Bekaa, (106%,) 3 and South (68%) cite more frequently
general economic challenges, such as unemployment and poverty than Mt Lebanon (38%).
Interestingly, economic challenges are mentioned by only 52% of the population in the North, although
this governorate has the highest poverty rate 4 Security is of most concern to the North and the Bekaa,
possibly because of the influx of refugees from Syria and proximity to the Syrian border. The upsurge in
violent incidents in the North in connection with the Syrian crisis likely accounts for the higher degree
of citizen concern with the security situation in that governorate, especially since security conditions
have a major impact on the local economy..

Gender & Age
The differences between men and women or between age groups are variations in intensity but the
order of priority remains comparable for all. Men are more likely to name political challenges, women
are more likely to name economic challenges related to the cost of living. Younger Lebanese are more
likely to name social or infrastructure problems than older generations.
(See table 5 in Annex E for details)

Other cross-tabulations
Urban citizens are more likely than their rural counterparts to cite social issues but less likely to
mention economic challenges. Poor people are more concerned about the high cost of living or
infrastructure but less concerned about social challenges or security.

2
For all of the cross-tabulations, results are only reported in the text when there are large percentage difference
and when the number of cases in each cell is relatively large. For this reason, few results on Druze or on Nabatieh
are mentioned in the report text.
3
Because respondents could provide 3 responses, the total can be higher than 100%. In this case, this means that
the total number of responses linked to economic challenges is higher by 6% than the total number of
respondents in the Bekaa, because some respondents mentioned more than one economic challenge.
4
International Poverty Centre. Poverty, growth and income distribution in Lebanon. January 2008.
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1.2 Community challenges and problems
In contrast to what they saw as the major problems and challenges faced by the country, the
Lebanese, when asked about the major problems and challenges faced by their community, cited
mostly issues that hit close to home,: infrastructure (most notably electricity), economic conditions
and social issues. Political and security issues are no longer amongst their top concerns, although
political corruption continues to merit a frequent mention (7% of respondents), as did
confessionalism (by 5% of respondents). One environmental issue appears on the list – pollution –
albeit at 5% only. Responses per sub-category of populations show the same pattern as for country-
level issues. Breaking down responses by sex or age group shows no major differences. The same is
true, to a lesser extent, of confessional groups, while the most significant variations appear between
governorates.
The table below lists all issues spontaneously mentioned by at least 5% of all respondents (see
Annex C for full details.

3. Major Problems Facing the Community
Major Problems or Challenges Facing the Community
(Top of Mind – Volunteered Responses > 5%)
%
Electricity problems 36
High cost of living 31
Unemployment 22
Poverty 13
Water problems 12
Bad roads 10
Lack of morals 9
Security situation 9
Bad economic situation 9
Infrastructure 8
High fuel prices 8
Political corruption 7
Thefts 7
Drugs 6
Confessionalism 5
Medical treatment 5
Environmental pollution 5
Traffic 5
As with national challenges, for the purposes of analysis, the long list of community challenges in the
volunteered responses are regrouped into categories in the graph below:

4. Major Problems Facing the Community, Regrouped
84%
Major Problems or Challenges Facing Lebanon at the Community Level
(Top of Mind - Volunteered Responses Regrouped)
50% 47% 44%

16%
11%
6%

Infrastructure Economic / High Economic / Social Political Security Political
cost of living General Outcomes Institutions

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Infrastructure-related issues are by far people’s main concerns for their communities, including
everyday issues such as the lack of parking space. In contrast to what they mentioned at the national
level, Lebanese are much less likely to name political and security issues as challenges for their
communities. When they do, they relate them to national, not local politics. Conversely, they are much
more likely to name a social challenge.

Confession
Different confessions 5 rank national challenges in a similar order of priority, from infrastructure, social
and economic issues as their main concerns down to security and political institutions perceived as
least challenging. Differences are mostly variations in intensity. For instance, Shiites (92%) are more
likely to say that infrastructure is a national challenge than Sunnis (69%), but this is the top concern of
both confessions.

Region
Many cross-tabulations present a number of cases too small to be considered valid, which makes this
more difficult to interpret. It is obvious however that infrastructure is the top concern in every
governorate, with the exception of the Bekaa, whose main concern is the economy, and the South,
which appears much more concerned with social issues.

Gender & Age
Even more than at the national level, men and women share the same priorities.
A common sense of priorities also prevails among generations. The older generations appear however
to be even more concerned by infrastructure while Lebanese under age 30 are more concerned with
general economic issues, such as unemployment and poverty.

Other notable variations
The trend here is similar to what is observed at the national level. Urban citizens are more likely than
their rural counterparts to cite infrastructure problems but less likely to mention economic challenges.
Poor people are more likely to mention issues related to the high cost of living or infrastructure, but
are less concerned about social challenges or security.

2. Social Problems and Challenges
The first, unprompted questions of the survey showed what issues are seen as most challenging by
the Lebanese at the local and national levels. In order to gain a finer understanding of their views,
the questionnaire then explored their views on a series of pre-determined issues.
The survey asked the Lebanese to rate a list of different social challenges by their degree of
importance. As expected when a list of potential concerns is offered, many respondents rated all of
them as very important. However, comparing the share of “very important” answers permits a

5
For all of the cross-tabulations, results are only reported in the text when there are large percentage difference
and when the number of cases in each cell is relatively large. For this reason, few results on Druze are mentioned
in the report text.
15

ranking of social issues based on how intensely the Lebanese feel about different issues and the
salience of these issues among categories of population.
Among the social challenges asked about in the survey (see the questionnaire in Annex A for a full
list) two challenges that mix social and political concerns rise to the top of the list. Nearly equal
shares of the Lebanese say public infrastructure (electricity, water, roads) and corruption in society
are very important social challenges, both with 95%. Both of these social challenges also figure
prominently in the problems or challenges that Lebanese spontaneously named when asked about
major problems in the country and in their community.
When asked about what they see as the single most important social challenge, similar concerns
emerge, with drugs rising as the most often mentioned (27%) followed by corruption, sectarianism,
food safety and infrastructure.
Resonating with observations made earlier, women feel more intensely than men about the
importance of social issues, as expressed in the percentage of individuals who consider a given topic
as being very important. Men and women show, however, few differences in the relative order of
importance they give to various social issues. This is true also of different age groups. One exception
is gender-based violence, to which men give less importance, both in absolute terms (78% against
92% for women) and in relative ranking (17th out of 21 topics while women see this as the 7th most
important topic).
There is broad agreement across confessions on some social challenges. They are the types of issues
that affect Lebanese regardless of their confession as a “pox on all houses” such as drugs, corruption,
infrastructure, food safety and cooperation among different confessions. Cross-confessional
differences in perceptions are more apparent for those challenges that involve the political system,
such as sectarianism in society, citizenship values, democracy, or minority rights. When
disaggregating by governorate, the most notable fact is that Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the North
view most social issues with a significantly higher intensity than the South, Nabatieh and the Bekaa.

2.1 Very Important Social Problems and Challenges

5. Very Important Social Challenges
100%
95% 95% 94%
Very Important Social Challenges
94%
95% 92%
91%
90% 88% 87% 86% 86% 85%
85%

80%

75%

Confession
There is broad agreement across confessions on the importance of some social challenges, when
looking at the order in which they rank the relative importance of a given list of social challenges and at
the intensity of their feelings (as expressed in percentage of individuals who consider a given topic as
16

being very important). Large, nearly equal shares of all groups mention corruption in society, public
infrastructure, drugs, food safety and health facilities as their top concerns. They also agree to see
equality between men and women, lowering the right to vote under 21, women’ quota in parliament
and smoking in public places as the things they care less about.
Other issues that they rank differently but on which they care with the same intensity are gender-
based violence, violence against children and child labor. Such challenges are issues that hurt social
groups that may be perceived as more vulnerable or worthy of protection, such as women and youth.
Some cross-confessional differences both in relative ranking and in intensity of feeling appear evident
for those social problems that involve the political system: sectarianism in society, citizenship values,
democracy, and minority rights -- although more than 80% of all groups view cooperation among
groups of different confessions as being very important (see table 12 in attachment for details).

Region
As with confessions, there is broad agreement across confessions on the importance of some social
challenges, when looking at the order in which they rank the relative importance of a given list of social
challenges and at the intensity of their feelings. All governorates mention corruption in society, public
infrastructure, drugs, food safety and health facilities as their top concerns. They also agree on seeing
greater equality between men and women, lowering the voting age to under 21, establishing a quota
for women in parliament, and smoking in public places as the things they care less about.
The main differences between governorates are in the level of intensity - as expressed in percentage of
individuals who consider a given topic as being very important - with which they view social issues.
Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the North view most topics with a higher intensity than the South,
Nabatieh and the Bekaa.
Some issues that involve the political system also show cross-governorate differences in opinion both
in terms of intensity and relative ranking, notably sectarianism in society, which is most worrisome to
Lebanese in the North (94%), Mount Lebanon (91%) and Beirut (90%), but less so in the South (77%),
Nabatieh (74%) and the Bekaa (73%).

Gender & Age
In line with observations made earlier, women feel overall more intensely than men about the
importance of social issues. Men and women show, however, few differences in the relative order of
importance they give to various social issues. For instance, 52% of men see a quota for women in
parliament as a very important issue, putting it at the bottom of this list of 21 social topics, in
decreasing order of importance. While 71% of women see this as a very important issue, it is the
second before last in the way they rank those 21 topics. One exception is gender-based violence, to
which men give less importance, both in absolute terms (78% against 92% for women) and in relative
ranking (17th by decreasing order out of 21 topics against 7th for women).
There does not appear to be a generational gap among Lebanese on social issues. Similar shares from
the different age groups agree on the importance of social challenges, in the same order of priority.
This is true even for the right to vote for people under 21, equality between men and women and a
quota for women in Parliament, perceived to be the least important of the list, whereas one could have
expected youth to be less socially conservative.

17

Urban citizens tend to be more concerned in general by social issues than rural citizens. The poorer
people are, the more importance they give to sectarianism, but the opposite is true when it comes to
democracy, minority rights and citizenship values.

2.2 Most Important Social Problem or Challenge
When asked to name the single most important social challenge from the list of social challenges
included on the survey questionnaire, 27% of all respondents mention drugs. It is noteworthy that
drugs were mentioned spontaneously by only 2.9% of respondents when asked the unprompted
questions that began the survey.

6. Most important social challenge

27% Most Important Social Challenge

16%
11% 10%
7%

Drugs Corruption in society Sectarianism in society Food safety Public infrastructure


Confession
All confessional groups identify the same 5 most important social challenges, virtually all in the same
order. All groups place drugs as their top concern, mentioned by 33% of Christians, 24% of Sunni and
Shiites and 18% of Druze.

Region
Drugs is the most important social challenge in all governorates, designated by 33% of Lebanese living
in the South (33%) to 21% of residents of Beirut.
There is very little regional variation on corruption in society and sectarianism in the top 5 most
important social problems. Variations appear for the remaining two. Rather than naming public
infrastructure in general, Beirut and the Bekaa are more specific by including health facilities. Bekaa,
South and Nabatieh all include gender-based violence and exclude food safety.

Gender & Age
Men and women agree on drugs and corruption as the two most important social challenges. Some
differences appear on sectarianism, seen as the most important challenge by 15% of men and 8% of
women and on food safety (8% of men and 13% of women).
There are few differences between age groups on the most important social challenges. It is worth
noting, however, that persons above the age of 65 are less concerned about drugs and more about
corruption than younger generations.

18

The views of employed vs. unemployed persons tend to mirror those, respectively, of men and women,
probably because of the high proportion of women amongst unemployed persons.

3. Political Challenges
Security, political stability and corruption top the hierarchy of most important concerns for the
Lebanese, followed by armed political groups and internal conflicts. The Lebanese show also a high
concern for the functioning of their political system and democratic rights and institutions: over 80%
of the respondents see as very important issues such as freedom of expression, politicized judicial
institutions and apoliticized media, as well as public participation in decision making and electoral
reform.
Consistent with observations made earlier, men and women do not show significant differences in
their appreciation of the importance of various political issues, with the exception of security being
of higher concern to women. This is true also of different age groups. There is broad agreement
across confessions on the fact that political stability, safety and security, and corruption are very
important, although the attitude towards armed groups is markedly different. Cross-confessional
differences in perceptions are more evident for those challenges that involve the political system:
confessional system, electoral reform, and public participation in decision-making.
Regional differences follow a similar pattern, in line with the major confessional groups present in a
given governorate. This seems to indicate that, on political issues, confessional belonging is the main
driver behind variations in perceptions.

3.1 Very Important Political Challenges

7. Very important political challenges
100%
97% Very Important Political Challenges
94% 93%
95%
91%
90%
87%
86% 85% 85% 84% 84% 84% 83%
85%
80%
80%

75%

Confession
There is broad agreement among confessions that political stability, corruption and safety and security
are very important. Apart from these three topics, Shiites express their views with less intensity than
other confessional groups: all 13 listed topics are viewed as very important by 82% or more of all
Christians, Sunnis and Druzes, whereas only four issues are viewed as very important by 82% or more
Shiites. All confessions also agree that electoral reform comes last in the importance they give to
political issues.

19

Some variations appear in the relative ranking they give to other issues. Shiites appear to rank higher
than other confessions the proliferation of small arms, freedom of expression and regional conflict,
while they rank lower the politicization of media and judicial institutions. This relative ranking has
however to be put in perspective. For instance, Christians place regional conflict as the last of the listed
topics but 86% of them still view it as very important, whereas Shiites rank it 7th, with only 78% of them
viewing it as very important.

Region
In all governorates, the issues considered very important by most people are the same: security and
safety, corruption and political stability. Beyond those three issues, the main differences between
governorates are in the level of intensity - as expressed in percentage of individuals who consider a
given topic as being very important - with which they view political issues. More than 80% of the
population of Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the North view all topics as being very important, whereas
topics seen as very important by more than 80% of the population are only three for the South and five
for Nabatieh and the Bekaa, mostly touching on security, corruption and political stability. The latter
governorates appear to be less preoccupied with other political issues, such as the electoral reform,
public participation in decision-making, politicized media and judiciary, etc.”, whether by nature or by
reason of the main confessional groups who inhabit them.. . .

Gender & Age
Men and women are in close agreement on the degree of importance of political challenges and
problems. As with gender, there are few differences among Lebanese of different age groups on the
importance of political issues. Older Lebanese are somewhat more likely to identify small arms and
armed political groups as very important political challenges than are Lebanese under age 30.

Urban and high-income citizens are more likely than their rural and poorer counterparts to cite security
issues such as armed political groups, proliferation of small arms, and regional conflict, as well as
corruption.

3.2 Most Important Political Challenge
The ranking of issues named as the single most important political challenge mirrors the intensity with
which the public deems an issue to be important.

8. Most Important Political Challenges
23% Most Important Political Challenges
18%
14%
10%
8%

Security and safety Political stability Corruption in the Proliferation of small Armed political groups
government arms

20

Confession
All confessional groups agree on the three most important political challenges. Differences appear on
the following priorities, where Shiites appear the least concerned by armed political groups and Druze
the least concerned by the proliferation of small arms.

Region
All confessional groups agree on the three most important political challenges.

Gender & Age
Men and women and all age groups agree on the three most important political challenges, as per
Table 20. One can note that women (28%) are much more likely than men (17%) to name security and
safety as the most important political issue.

4. Economic Challenges
4.1 Very Important Economic Challenges
The Lebanese are nearly unanimous in their agreement across all types of socio-economic and
demographic divisions that the cost of living, finding job opportunities and poverty are very important
challenges for Lebanon.
Apart from other cost-related issues, it is notable that the emigration of Lebanon’s youth is very
important to nine-of-ten Lebanese.

9. Very Important Economic Challenges

98%
Very Important Economic Challenges
100% 97% 97%
95%
95% 93% 92%
90%
90%
85%
85%
80%
75%

Confession
Lebanese of all confessions generally share the same intensity of feeling on the importance of
economic challenges. All agree that the cost of living, closely followed by finding job opportunities and
poverty, are very important economic challenges, with similar levels of intensity. Christians and Sunnis
appear more likely than Shiites to view the cost of housing and youth emigration as very important .
21

Region
As would be expected given the lack of differences in intensity of feelings among confessions, there are
few differences when comparing Lebanese across governorates. Lebanese living in Beirut and Mount
Lebanon are particularly more intense in their belief that the cost of housing is very important. This is
not surprising given the rise in the housing prices in Beirut and its environs over the past decade.

Gender & Age
Men and women also share the same intensity of belief on economic challenges. The same holds for
Lebanese of different generations.

The only notable difference between urban and rural populations concerns the cost of housing, more
relevant for urban residents. As can be expected on economic issues, variations appear between
income brackets. The lower the income, the more importance is given to poverty and high cost of
living.

4.2 – Most important economic challenge

10. Most Important Economic Challenge
24% 23%
Most Important Economic Challenge
18%
13%
8%

Poverty Finding job opportunities Cost of living Emigration among youth Cost of public services

Confession
All confessions share the same views of what are the most important economic challenges. One can
note however that poverty as Lebanon’s most important economic challenge is most frequently named
by Shiites at 30%, followed by Sunnis (25%) whereas it is of concern to only 20% of the Christians and
15% of Druze.

Region
While the order of priority does not change, differences are more apparent between governorates.
Although poverty is the most important economic challenge nationally, residents of the Bekaa (41%)
and the South (30%) are much more likely than those from other regions to say that poverty is the
most important challenge. Residents of the North and Nabatieh are more likely than residents of Bekaa
to cite finding job opportunities, while residents of Beirut and Mount Lebanon are more likely than
residents of other regions to cite the cost of housing.
22

Gender & Age
As with the other types of challenges, there is general agreement between men and women on which
challenge is most important. Not surprisingly, younger Lebanese are more likely than older generations
to say that finding job opportunities is the most important economic challenge.
Unsurprisingly, the poorer the people are, the higher the proportion of persons mentioning poverty as
their most important concern (from 33% down to 14% only for those in the highest income bracket).

5. Environmental Challenges
5.1 Very Important Environmental Challenges
Figure 11 shows, out of a list of environmental issues (see questionnaire in Annex A for a full list).,
which ones are viewed as very important. While it shows that high percentages of respondents see
environmental issues as very important, it is important to keep in mind that this in reaction to a
proposed list. The Lebanese’s unprompted views on the most important challenges facing their country
and their community did not include any environmental issues, with the exception of pollution, which
emerged as a community-level concern for 5.2% of respondents

11. Very important environmental challenges
100%
Very Important Environmental Challenges
95%
89% 88% 88%
90% 86% 86%
85% 81% 81%
80%
75% 73%

70%
Quarries Household Sewage Deforestation Loss of Beach Use of Climate
garbage recycling biodiversity pollution alternative change
management energy
sources

Confession & region
The main notable fact is that, on almost every environmental issue, Shiites appear less concerned than
other confessions. This is largely due to the geographical distribution of different confessions, as can be
seen in the cross-tabulations of environmental challenges by mouhafaza.

There are few differences in the salience of environmental issues between men and women or
between young and old. In general, the level of importance given to environmental issues increases
with the level of income.

5.2 Most important Environmental Challenges
When asked to name one most important environmental challenge, Lebanese beliefs on economic and
environmental challenges converge even further. Nearly one-in-four Lebanese say that the use of
alternative energy sources is the most important environmental challenge, ranking first. Lebanese are

23

concerned about high fuel prices and electricity supply and are thus concerned with alternative energy
sources.

12. Most Important Environmental Challenges

24% Most Important Environmental Challenges
18% 17%
14% 14%

Use of alternative energy sources Quarries Deforestation Household garbage management Sewage recycling

The only noticeable variations appear when disaggregating by region, which is not surprising for
environmental topics.

24

ATTITUDES TOWARDS INSTITUTIONS, CITIZENSHIP, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
6. Vulnerable Groups
Respondents were asked to name from a list two groups they saw as most vulnerable. Homosexuals
were included in this list, which may explain their relatively high score. Old and poor persons were not
but were spontaneously mentioned by respondents, which explains their relatively low score.
Christians are less likely to cite refugees (14%) than Sunnis and Shiites (34 and 31% respectively).
Whereas women were more likely than men to cite themselves as the most vulnerable group (45% vs.
25%). Youth were less likely to see themselves as a most vulnerable group than were older
generations.

13. Vulnerable Groups

60% Vulnerable Groups
53%

34%
24%

8% 8%
2% 1%

People with Youth Women Refugees Old persons Homosexuals Poor persons No answer
special needs

7. Making a Difference
A majority of Lebanese believe that they cannot make a difference regarding the challenges they had
identified. They feel only marginally more confident that they can make a change at the community
than at the national level. Age, sex, income level or region do not influence responses, while Shiites
appear less confident in their capacity to make a large difference than other confessions. It is notable
that youth does not appear to be more confident than older generations.

14. Making a Difference

Making a difference
61%
53% Community level National Level

25% 21%
16% 13%
6% 5% 1% 1%

I can’t make a change I can somewhat make a I can make an average I can make a big change. Don’t know, no answer
change change

8. Confidence in Institutions to Solve Problems and Representativeness of Institutions
As shown in the two graphs below, the Lebanese demonstrate a very contrasted attitude towards
institutions. They mention security as one of their top national concerns and trust the institution in
charge, namely the Armed Forces. To a lesser extent, the same is true from other institutions linked to
security and law enforcement: General Security and Internal Security Forces (ISF). Civil society
25

organizations (CSOs) are the second most trusted institutions, after the Armed Forces, which seems to
show that the Lebanese trust CSOs to deliver what the government cannot do and only have a high
level of confidence in one governmental institution. Indeed, they distrust to a high level the national
government, the parliament and political parties, which should be the institutions in charge of
responding to their concerns regarding economy or political instability.
When asked about the institutions that best represent their interests, only the Lebanese Armed Forces
maintain their high score while CSOs’ score decreases markedly and other institutions are hardly
considered to be representative. It is striking that, while 48% show confidence to some level in the
local government, only 10% view it as one of the institutions that best represents their interests.
Citizens simply do not seem to feel that their interests are adequately taken into account. This suggests
a strong disconnect between the citizenry and the institutions meant to respond to their concerns.

15. Degree of Confidence in Institutions
82%
Degree of Confidence in Institutions
Great deal of confidence
No confidence 60%
54% 54%
46% 44% 45%
39%
34%

20% 20% 18%
14% 12%
11% 10% 8%
4%

Lebanese Civil Society General Police/law The Judicial Local/city The Political Government
Armed Forcesorganizations Security enforcement System government parliament parties
(NGOs) (Internal
Security
Forces (ISF))

16. Representativeness of institutions
83% Institution Representativeness

35%
17% 15% 15% 10%

Lebanese Armed Civil Society General Security Lebanese elite Police/law Local/city
Forces organizations forces enforcement government
(NGOs)

Regional variations
All the major confessions seem to have a great deal of confidence in the Lebanese Armed Forces,
however Christians were more likely to cite them (86%) whereas Sunnis were least likely to do so
(77%). Shiites seem to have the least confidence in the ISF (39%) whereas Sunnis have the most
confidence (50%). Shiites have the largest deal of confidence in the parliament (23%) and General
Security (57%) compared to 40% of Christians. Generally, it appears that different confessional groups

26

have a higher degree of confidence in the security institutions that are perceived to be dominated by
their sect (LAF for Christians, ISF for Sunnis, and General Security for Shiites).
Lebanese from all governorates have a great deal of trust in the armed forces, but such trust is nearly
universal in the South and somewhat lower in Beirut and Nabatieh. This may have some relationship to
the fact that the Lebanese Armed Forces have been deployed in the South in large numbers since the
end of the 2006 July War as part of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Lebanese that live
in the South are more likely than residents of other regions to trust political parties, the national
government and the parliament. Residents of Mount Lebanon are more likely to trust their local
government than are residents of Beirut and other regions. Residents of Nabatieh and South have
somewhat less trust in the ISF than residents of other governorates.
Civil society organizations enjoy high levels of trust throughout the country, but this trust declines
significantly among Lebanese living in Bekaa. It is highest in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Druze on the
other hand have the greatest deal of confidence in civil society (67%), compared to 58% of both
Christians and Sunnis, and 40% for Shiites.
(See Annex E for details)

Other variations
People living in urban areas are more likely to cite a great deal of confidence in the Lebanese Armed
Forces than people living in rural areas (83 vs 76%). They are also more likely to cite a great deal of
confidence in CSOs (56 vs 40%). The same applies to high vs. low-income populations.
Age, sex or employment status do not appear to influence the respondents’ opinions.

9. Political parties and elections
58% of respondents declare that no party reflects their opinions. An additional 6% declined to answer
the question. It is difficult to determine whether this is due to a reluctance to share this information
with a surveyor or whether they feel genuinely alienated from political parties. Men are more likely to
cite affiliation with a political party, where 13% have cited that they are current members in a political
group compared to 5% of women.
Intention to vote in the next parliamentary elections
Shiites are more likely to vote in the forthcoming elections at 67%, as compared to 61% of Christians
and merely 53% of Sunnis.
Despite the fact that women equally participated in the last municipal and parliamentary elections,
they are less likely to cite their will to participate in the upcoming elections (57%) compared to 63% of
men.

10. Civil Society Organizations
Although more than half of all Lebanese say they have a great deal or some confidence in civil society
organizations to solve the country’s major problems and more than a third say that these organizations
best represent their interests, 16.5% of them were unable to mention a single name of a CSO.
The Lebanese Red Cross is the most frequently mentioned, followed by a number of charities with
nation-wide or local coverage. The most frequently cited CSOs are those that are known for both their
presence in the media and their relief work. Advocacy-oriented NGOs and political foundations are

27

only mentioned by very few respondents, although most of them would have been recognized if they
had been cited by name in the questionnaire.
The Lebanese could name many civil society organizations, but seem to either not know which
organizations’ views and interests are closest to their own or feel that none reflect such views, with the
exception of the Red Cross. All of this appears to indicate that the view of CSOs is one of worthy
organizations, dedicated to relief work but that they are not perceived or known for their capacity to
advocate on citizen’s concerns.
Regardless of their lack of knowledge about exactly what these organizations believe and do, Lebanese
confidence in civil society organizations, as noted above, is strong. They believe that their initiatives to
address challenges in their country are successful and effective. Lebanese support these initiatives—
84% say this while only 14% say that they do not support CSO initiatives.

17. Civil Society Organizations’ Success and Effectiveness
53%
Civil Society Organizations’ Success and Effectiveness
28%

10%
6% 3%

Very successful and Somewhat successful Not very successful and Not successful and Don’t know, no answer
effective and effective effective effective at all

Christians have the highest share of belief that CSO initiatives to address challenges in Lebanon are
successful/effective (62%) whereas Shiites have the least (37%). Urban areas are more likely to cite that
CSOs are effective in addressing challenges (54 vs 47%) than rural areas.
Among the 84% of all Lebanese who say that they support civil society initiatives, making a donation or
providing financial support is the most common way of showing their support—two-thirds (68%) of all
who support civil society initiatives say they do so financially. Much lower shares of the population say
that they participate in their activities (17%) or volunteer with the organizations (14%).
Christians have the highest share of supporting CSO initiatives to address challenges in Lebanon (91%)
whereas Shiites have the least (72%). Urban residents are more likely to support initiatives than rural
residents (85 vs 74%).

18. Type of Support for Civil Society Initiatives

Type of Support for Civil Society Initiatives
68%

14% 17%
1% 0% 1%

Volunteering Donation/financial Participating in Moral support Praying Don’t know, no
support their activities answer

This low level of active participation, rather than financial participation, is not surprising, since only 6%
say that they are a member of a civil society organization. Note that youth are more likely to support
NGO initiatives through volunteering and participation in activities (22.5% compared to 14% of adults).

28

11. Cross-confessional relations
While sectarianism in society and confessionalism are seen as a major issue confronting the country,
most Lebanese are willing to cooperate with individuals and groups from different confessions to
address problems on the community level (89%) and the national level (88%). Sunnis and Druze are
more likely to be willing to cooperate with individuals/groups from different confessions as compared
to 86% of Christians. However, as seen in the table below, dialogue is by far the mode of engagement
they would consider and few would go farther to participate in joint activities.

19. Types of Cooperation across Confessions
80%
Types of Cooperation across Confessions

16%
3% 1% 0%

Engaging in dialogue to Participation in joint Money contribution Don’t know, no answer Other
find solutions to activities
common problems

This willingness to cooperate across confessions may be related to the basis upon which Lebanese
develop relationships with others. As seen in the table below, most Lebanese develop relationships
based on proximity: through neighborhoods, workplaces or school. Only 3% say they develop
relationships based on shared political views. This is consistent with their views of political parties.

20. Basis of Cooperation across Confessions
49%
Basis of Cooperation across Confessions

18%
10%
5% 3% 2% 2% 2%

Neighbors Colleagues at School/college Humanism Share your Depending on Share your Friendship
work friends political views the treatment confession
of the other
person

29

MEDIA USAGE
12. Media Use and Information Sources
Lebanese are mostly consumers of television, with 89% watching TV daily. Other types of media are
used much less frequently. Interestingly, if one does not take into account cell phones, the second
most consumed media is internet, with radio a distant third. The graph below shows how much printed
press is now ignored by the population.
As could be expected, youth are more likely to cite using the internet on a daily basis as compared to
older age groups (67% vs. 25%). The same applies to phone usage (96% vs. 86%). While no significant
difference was noted across all confessions on watching television and using the internet, Shiites are
less likely to listen to the radio (13%), with at least 12 percentage points difference with Sunnis and
Druze and 20 points with Christians.

21. Media Use
89% 87%
Daily Moderate use Don’t use / Rarely use
74%

57%
51%
41%

27%
16% 15%
8% 11% 8% 11%
3% 2%

Watch TV Use a cell phone Use the internet Listen to the radio Read the newspaper
When asked about the frequency of different media sources for information, television again comes
out on top, followed by internet. Radio or print media do not appear to be used significantly as sources
of information.

22. Frequency as a Source of Information
85%
Daily Moderate use Don’t use / Rarely use 80%

66%

42%
37% 38%
33%
29%
24%
21%
16%
12% 10%
2% 3%

TV Internet Radio stations Daily Newspaper Magazines and
weekly newspapers

30

As can be seen from the graphs below, the almost unique source of information about national or local
matters is television.

23. National-Level Sources of Information
86%
Source of information you use the most on the national level

7%
3% 2% 2% 1%

Local TV Internet Regional / International TV Other Local newspapers Radio

24. Local Sources of Information
70%
Source of information you use the most in your region

7% 6% 6% 4% 3% 3% 2%

Local TV Other Neighbours Internet People Friends Don’t know, no answer SMS

The ranking and frequency of usaege of sources for local information mirrors to a large degree that of
national information sources.

25. Media Outlets Used for National Information

23% 21%
National Information Source
17%
15%

8% 8%
6%
2% 2% 1%

31

26. Media Outlets used for Local Information
22% 22%
Regional Information Source
15%
13%
9% 9%
5%
3% 3%

New TV LBCI MTV Other Manar TV Future TV OTV Don’t know, NBN
no answer

13. Usage of internet
Internet users employ the internet for a number of functions, mostly social networking, research, email
and chatting. Interestingly, 60% use internet to obtain news, a share higher than for more traditional
media like radio or printed press.

27. Connecting to the Internet – Uses
For what purposes do you use the Internet? 82% 83% 84% 86%

60%

39%

12%
3.50%

money shopping playing games News obtaining Chatting Email checking Research Social networks
transfer/Banking

28. Social Media Sites

Which social networks do you use ?
97%

24%
11% 11%
4% 2% 4%

Facebook MSN Twitter Whatsapp Skype Youtube Other

32

SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHICS AND SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Age
65 and
Age Group
above,
7%
16-29,
40%
30-64,
54%

By design, the sample is made equally of men and women.

Educational Attainment 6
40% 37% Highest Educational Level Attained
31%
30%

20% 17%
12%
10%
3%
1%
0%
Illiterate / Intermediate High school / University degree Higher education No answer
Elementary Technical degree

36% of the respondents declared themselves to be unemployed.

45%
Current Occupation (if employed)
39%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20% 15%
15% 11% 10% 8% 8%
10% 4% 3% 2%
5%
0%

6
Because the survey included Lebanese age 16 and older, the survey respondents’ level of education is lower
than it would be if only adults over age 25 were included. This is because a share of respondents ages 16 – 25
may not have completed their education.
33

45% 41%
40% Previous Occupation (if not employed)
34%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 2%
5%
0%
Freelancer Housewife Other Services Student Technicians Workers in Writers Armed
workers and and handcrafts forces (army,
sales persons specialized and similar general
in shops assistants jobs forces…)
(teachers…)

Confession
50%
39% Confession
40%

30% 27% 26%

20%

10% 8%

0%
Christians Sunni Shiite Druze

Note: those percentages were determined to align the sample on data obtained from the latest
electoral lists. They do not necessarily reflect the actual breakdown of the population.

34

SURVEY OF LEBANESE CITIZENS’ PRIORITY CONCERNS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

SURVEY OF LEBANESE CITIZENS’ PRIORITY CONCERNS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

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