The World Bank reveals staggering increase in poverty rates in Lebanon

Poverty in Lebanon has increased a lot in the last 10 years. The World Bank says that now 44% of people in Lebanon are living in poverty. This is a big jump from 12% in 2012. The report looked at five areas in Lebanon and found that poverty is different in each place. For example, in Beirut, the number of poor people went down from 4% to 2%. But in Akkar, a region in the north, poverty went up from 22% to 62%. The report also showed that there are big differences between Lebanese people and Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. In 2022, 33% of Lebanese were poor, while 87% of Syrians were poor. When looking at things like access to electricity and education, 73% of Lebanese and all non-Lebanese residents were considered poor. The economic crisis in Lebanon started in 2019. The country's money lost a lot of its value, prices went up a lot, and the country's overall wealth went down. Many Lebanese lost their savings because of this. People thought that getting help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could fix things. But even though Lebanon agreed to work with the IMF in 2022, they haven't made enough progress on the changes needed to get the help. The IMF recently visited Beirut and said that some progress has been made in fixing money and budget issues. But they also said that more changes are needed for Lebanon to recover fully. The World Bank thinks that almost half of Lebanon's money is now in cash, as people don't trust banks anymore. This has led to worries about money laundering and terrorism financing in the country.