by nfs00 | Apr 29, 2025 | Uncategorized
Lebanon has faced one of the most severe inflationary crises in recent history, deeply impacting both consumers and businesses. Food prices alone skyrocketed by an astounding 5,803%, shaking household stability and business operations alike. The annualized food inflation stands at 41.49%, with a maximum drawdown of -12.13%, reflecting the volatility and hardship Lebanese communities endured.
The period between 2019 and 2021 marks a critical inflection point. In just two years, Lebanon witnessed a dramatic +204% rise in average food inflation — a surge that reshaped the commercial and social landscape.
But inflation alone doesn’t tell the full story. Our analysis further investigates the commercial structure of Lebanese towns to better understand resilience and vulnerability. The findings reveal that 63.68% of towns are dominated by large businesses, while 36.32% are small-business dominated. This distinction is crucial: towns led by small enterprises often face greater risk during economic shocks, given their limited financial buffers.
Moreover, identifying economic hubs such as Choueifat El-Aamrousiyeh, home to 300 service institutions, highlights key centers that could drive recovery efforts if supported strategically.
This visualization aims to synthesize the inflationary trends and business structures into a single coherent narrative. It offers not just an overview of the crisis but highlights opportunities for targeted policy interventions. Strengthening small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and stabilizing commercial ecosystems are critical steps toward Lebanon’s economic recovery.
Explore the full visualization below to better understand the shifts shaping Lebanon’s economic future.
by nwh00 | Apr 28, 2025 | Uncategorized
For many young graduates, a diploma is no longer enough to guarantee an opportunity. It marks the start of a harder journey, one that demands more than academic success.
In 2024, the global challenge of youth unemployment remains high, and the real question is no longer “What did you study?” It’s “What can you do?“
This perspective highlights that unemployment is not distributed equally. Regions such as Northern Europe and parts of Asia manage to keep unemployment low, while Sub-Saharan Africa struggles deeply.
The Middle East, where many graduates study, live, or plan their futures — sits somewhere in between.
Opportunities exist, but they are neither evenly distributed nor easily accessible.
Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Gulf offer examples of how education systems produce graduates, but labor markets respond in very different ways.
Entering the workforce is particularly difficult for those under 25. Adults aged 25 and older maintain stronger employment rates across all countries, while youth face more volatile and limited prospects.
In addition, gender deepens the divide. Young women, even when highly educated, often face slower transitions into employment, with Cyprus standing out as a rare case where gender differences narrow meaningfully.
Even when employment is secured, challenges persist. Weekly working hours remain high across Lebanon and the Gulf, often exceeding 45–48 hours per week, while monthly earnings for employees, especially in Lebanon, fall far behind regional standards.
Now, it might seem logical to assume that achieving better employment opportunities, with higher wages and fairer working hours, depends mainly on higher education. However, the reality is more complex.
Higher education does not necessarily improve workforce participation (the proportion of the population that is economically active) and does not guarantee equal access to opportunities.
Participation rates are generally stronger for those with advanced education levels, particularly in countries like Cyprus and Saudi Arabia. However, disparities remain visible. In Lebanon, for instance, youth with less than basic education report some of the highest participation rates, a reflection of broader economic instability pushing young people into early, often informal work.
Across many countries, the relationship between education level and labor force participation is not consistent. Advanced education does not always translate into higher employment, highlighting how unstable economies, skill mismatches, and limited job creation continue to restrict real opportunities, even for the highly educated.
In today’s labor markets, success depends on more than diplomas. In a world of constant change, what opens real doors are the skills you build, the ones that employers need, but universities don’t always teach. Technical expertise, digital literacy, language proficiency, and practical certifications have become the new roadmaps to unique opportunities.
While higher education remains important, it does not guarantee strong participation in the labor market. Data shows that individuals with higher occupational skills consistently achieve better employment outcomes across the region, regardless of formal education levels.
In some cases, individuals with basic or intermediate education paired with high technical skills have stronger employment rates than university graduates with lower skill levels.
This mismatch highlights a critical truth: instability in economies, limited job creation, and the growing demand for practical, adaptable abilities mean that education without skill is no longer enough.
Today’s graduates must think beyond traditional academic achievements. Building employability now demands combining education with real-world, adaptable skills.
Degrees open doors.
Skills build futures.
Opportunity is still out there, but today, it belongs to the prepared.
by mkm00 | Apr 28, 2025 | Dashboard, Visualization
Despite major progress in education over the last 70 years, gender inequality still defines Lebanon’s labor market. This blog explores why education alone isn’t enough to close the workforce gap and offers actionable insights for change.
Read on for more
Lebanon’s educated women are being left behind
Despite a stable growth in academic achievements and near-equal populations between Lebanese males and females, there continues to be significant underrepresentation of women in the labor force.
This chart illustrates the distribution of Lebanese males and females over the years.
The Gender Divide in Numbers
Although Lebanon is doing well in terms of gender education equality, a large gap persists in the labor market. Since 2015, women have surpassed men in attaining tertiary education, yet their workforce participation remains quite low. The labor force participation chart displays a persistent divide as female involvement is consistently lagging behind males. In this case, the lag is not due to population differences either as they are nearly equal over time but diverge slightly in 2016 with a higher female: male ratio ever since. To further confirm this, the employment-to-population ratio pie chart shows a striking difference where men dominate the workforce by nearly 45% despite women’s growing educational attainment.
The bar chart below shows a striking gender gap in the labor force participation, despite growing educational attainment by women.
Now we see a clearer breakdown of male-to-female participation in the workforce over time, emphasizing how, despite education equality, the gender gap in employment persists.
Where do we go from here?
Lebanon has successfully achieved gender equality in education; now, it’s time to focus on ensuring women have equal opportunities in the workforce. The solution isn’t to just hire more women; Lebanon must implement more programs that prepare women for the job market and levelling the playing field between male and female professionals.
Lebanon should re-evaluate their investment in education as its spending as a percentage of the GDP has been stagnant for years, only peaking in 2011 at 2.84%.
Leveling the Playing Field
Broader systemic barriers also create an unnoticeable cause & effect cycle which needs to be addressed by various institutions to help solve this issue. Academic achievement is at the core of solving these problems where meritocracy reigns alongside equal opportunities. Workplaces need to reform by implementing gender-sensitive hiring practices, promoting transparency in pay and leadership opportunities, and crafting mentorship programs that guide female graduates into long-term careers. From a wider perspective, expanding access to affordable childcare and flexible work structures would give women a choice whether they want to work or not. Lastly, it is crucial to raise public campaigns aimed at shifting societal norms and reframe women’s economic participation as not just a gender issue, but a national growth imperative.
This graph shows the women have outpaced men in tertiary education, reinforcing the argument that education is not the issue.
Lessons from the Region
According to the World Bank, closing gender gaps in the workforce could boost the GDP of MENA countries by up to 47%. Both the United Arab Emirates and Egypt proved this to be true as their respective GDP’s rose by 12% and 34% with the contribution of women in the workforce. For Lebanon, where talent can go unnoticed due to a multitude of reasons, empowering women to fully participate in the economy is financially strategic and has been long overdue.
Translating Education into Opportunity
Lebanon has made remarkable strides in women’s access to higher education. The challenge remains in translating this educational success into tangible career opportunities. Some strong recommendations to address this problem efficiently are as follows:
1- Collaborate with NGO’s, Members of Parliament, and the private sector to design inclusive policies,
2- Build career pipelines that bridge the gap between education and employment,
3- Incorporate gender audits into hiring processes to ensure fairness and meritocracy,
4- Introduce gender-sensitive mentorship programs to guide female graduates,
5- Advocate for systemic reforms that provide women with better access to affordable childcare and flexible work-arrangements.
Our Shared Responsibility
Only through a coordinated, shared commitment can Lebanon turn educational success into economic empowerment, building a future where every citizen, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to contribute to national growth.
by obe00 | Apr 28, 2025 | Uncategorized
Airports function beyond being pure transport facilities because they showcase a country’s economic state together with its social transformation while revealing its sentiments. These facilities offer narratives which display how the country expands together with its battles for recovery and its aspirations for better days ahead. My research examined Lebanon’s airport operations throughout 2005 to 2019 by studying the evolution of passenger traffic alongside goods transportation and postal services.
Lebanon experienced continuous growth of airport traffic during fifteen years which signaled the country’s improvement as a tourist location and international trade center and national diaspora hub. The growth experienced a sudden discontinuation during these two major disruptions. During the July War of 2006 airport operations suffered a complete breakdown which badly damaged both aviation arrivals and departures activities. The year 2019 brought the second major disruption to Lebanon through its entry into a profound economic crisis that initiated another substantial decline. The smaller transit segment of airport traffic experienced two peaks during 2007 post-war when airlines rerouted flights through Beirut and in 2015 which demonstrated Lebanon’s regional strategic importance.
The freight and mail transportation performance provides supplementary information regarding this historical narrative. The transport of freight experienced an early 2006 decline followed by exceptional growth. The airport experienced its most significant volume ever in 2013 which pointed to rising international trading operations in Lebanon. After 2013 freight volume displayed erratic movement which might result from uncertainties in regional and local market conditions. Mail transport presented contrary information to the rest of the data. The airport experienced gradual decreases in mail loading and unloading activities throughout the years followed by brief elevation points between 2008 and 2010. The world demonstrates a general movement toward electronic communication coupled with fresh shipping methodologies at the expense of traditional mail systems.
Seasonal patterns revealed comprehensive information about how life operated in Lebanon. The summer season became the busiest time at the airport as Lebanese expatriates and tourists came to spend their time in Lebanon during June through August. The month of December attracted significant transit travel activity that probably resulted from holiday travel within the region.
In conclusion, Lebanon’s airport activity between 2005 and 2019 serves as a powerful mirror of the nation’s broader story. The time series reveals the full scope of Lebanese progress while also displaying key periods of inadequate situations and societal adjustments to change. The airport data demonstrates that Lebanon maintained its global connectivity throughout disruptions because its diaspora connections and tourism sector and business orientation kept it connected to international activities. The observed patterns reveal more than airport freight statistics because they demonstrate the way nations handle both internal difficulties and external opportunities in the world today. The statistics reveal real people in motion who manage multiple missions of transportation with goods and dreams across international lines
by mmb00 | Apr 28, 2025 | Uncategorized
This blog post explores the global landscape of child employment, with a special focus on agriculture, and highlights the urgent need for us to become more responsible consumers.
Do you remember the first time you tasted chocolate?
Chocolate is a symbol of joy and celebration, but it hides a darker reality. The sweetness we enjoy may come at a cost, a cost paid by children who are forced to work in the cocoa fields. Behind the familiar wrappers, there’s a bitter truth about the exploitation of children in the chocolate.
Looking at the map, we can see that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the highest child employment is concentrated and parts of Asia are the most affected by child employment, with some regions experiencing rates of almost 50%.
To understand the scale of the issue, it’s crucial to recognize that 66% of child employment is concentrated in agriculture, with a significant portion tied to the cocoa industry. Children working on cocoa farms are often subjected to dangerous working conditions, where they handle sharp tools, carry heavy loads, and work long hours in harsh environments. While child employment also exists in services and manufacturing, agriculture remains the sector with the highest rate of child employment.
In the context of agriculture, including cocoa farming, gender is not a barrier when it comes to child employment. Both boys and girls are affected, with 56% of child workers being boys and 44% being girls.
The 10 countries with the lowest education expenditure are, in fact, the very same countries that experience high child employment rates. These nations invest little in education, making it harder for children to access schooling, and leaving them vulnerable to being pushed into working.
We know that, of course, increasing education expenditure will help reduce child employment, as it gives children the opportunity to attend school instead of working.
However, what can we do as consumers to make a difference in the meantime?
As consumers, we have the power to influence change by supporting Fair Trade products. By choosing Fair Trade certified chocolate , we can ensure that farmers are paid fairly, and children are given the opportunity to go to school instead of working in the fields. With every Fair Trade purchase, we can be confident that child employment/labor is not part of the supply chain.
Fair Trade practices lead to a substantial 20% decrease in child employment in countries that have enforced Fair Trade certification. These countries have experienced a reduction in child employment, helping children in cocoa-producing regions avoid hazardous.
By choosing Fair Trade products, we’re actively helping to break the cycle of child employment. While we may not be able to solve the problem overnight, each purchase we make can contribute to a future where children are free to learn, grow, and thrive without being forced to work. Let’s make our choices count. Together, we can create a better world, one Fair Trade product at a time.
By Magdalena Bodouris
