Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

The variation of imports and exports in Lebanon over the last 30 years

The variation of imports and exports in Lebanon over the last 30 years

The devaluation in the Lebanese currency has risen as Lebanon is suffering from the most severe economic problem since the civil war. As we know, Lebanon has huge depts. which forms over 150% of the national GDP, the third highest in the world. Adding to it, the gap between the exports and the imports of good and services in Lebanon which is widening in the recent years. Knowing that the Central Bank is providing 85% dollars for commodity imports, the US dollar is becoming scarce in the market. I can say that boosting the current economic downturn would require us to BUY Lebanese products.

Vital Statistics in Lebanon

Vital Statistics in Lebanon

The following dashboard gives a complete image of the vital statistics in Lebanon starting year 1999 till the year 2018. It can be seen that the number of births has increased over the past few years by approximately 74 percent (top visual). However, during the same period, the number of deaths has increased slightly. The drastic increase in the number of births and yet slight increase in death rate call for further analysis of factors contributing to this improvement such as economic indicators, health care system and other relevant factors. What is worth noting, however, is that the number of divorces have doubled during the same time period. In comparison, the number of marriages has slightly increased between the years 1999 – 2018.

The following dashboard further shows a break down of these four variables (births, deaths, marriages, and divorces) by city and year. Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has maintained the lowest number of births throughout the years (1999 – 2018). Interestingly, however, North Lebanon has had the highest number of vitals across all four variables throughout the same time period. Bekaa, on the other hand, had a relatively high marriage and divorce rate.

On a separate note, Lebanon has maintained an equal number of births and deaths across both genders throughout the same period (1999 – 2018).




Note that the dashboard is highly interactive. To maximize your experience, please view in full-screen and use filters by year and city as well as highlight by city.

The Lebanese Phoenix

The Lebanese Phoenix

My morning dark coffee was mixed lately with the sorrowful news regarding the collapse of the Lebanese economy. People are losing their jobs, their purchasing power, and even their hope to rise again. I felt for a couple of times that we are powerless and it’s the time to accept that hope is only a way to package the melancholic truth.

In my attempt to find any light inside the deep dark hole that we are inside, I remembered the metaphor of Lebanese phoenix that I heard about during the 2006 July war. Phoenix is the bird who can arise from the aches according to Greek mythology. Beirut, the capital of the old country, like the phoenix, was rebuilt more than seven times according to legend.  So, to strengthen the glimpse of hope with actual reality, I searched for a recent stage where Lebanon was rising.  I surprised when I found that between 1950 and 1974, Lebanon was in a golden stage with a GPD per capita is greater than many developed counties nowadays!  So, my current concern becomes while drinking my morning coffee is how we can make the Lebanese phoenix rise again?

Note: I created this graph using tableau software based on the data from Maddison Project Database 2018.

Lebanese Vital Statistics Dashboard (1999-June 2019)

Lebanese Vital Statistics Dashboard (1999-June 2019)

This dashboard contains several interactive visualizations about the “Vital Statistics in Lebanon” for the period 1999 till June 2019. The user can use the dashboard to get insights about the following Vital Stats: Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorce.
The user can select the desired measure and some provided filters like year-slider, Mohafaza, etc. in order to generate desired visuals!
Below is a list of available charts:
  • Vital Statistics – Consolidated: this is a consolidated interactive chart. It gives the user the needed flexibility to select the x-axis and the y-axis from the four possible indicators (deaths, births, marriages, and divorce) and the gender (female, male) where applicable. By mousing over the points in the scatter plot on the left, the line graphs on the right update based on the point that you are hovering over.
  • Yearly Vital Statistics Change (%) in Lebanon: the user can see the yearly percent change for the different measures (births, deaths, marriages, divorces) by gender and Mohafaza.
  • Total Births/Deaths: an interactive bar chart to show the total number of births and deaths by gender and Mohafaza.
  • Total Marriages/Divorces: an interactive stacked bar chart to show the total number of marriages and divorces by Mohafaza.
  • Marriages/Divorces Progress: another interactive scatter plot that shows the progress on divorce with respect to marriages categorized by Mohafaza. The user has the option to select only one year or see the progress over all the years.
  • Divorce Rate with respect to Marriage: this interactive bar chart shows the divorce rate (%) with respect to marriages by Mohafaza. The user has the option to select only one year or see the progress over all the years.

Moral of the Story: divorce rate in Lebanon on the rise (increased by 101% for the past 10 years)! So please protect your marriages!

Data source (Vital Data 1999-2019: Births, Deaths, Marriages, Divorces): Open Data Lebanon.