The Lebanese Diaspora: History

The formation of a diaspora (al-intishar) dates back to the population growth of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Emigration was mainly directed towards Brazil, where the descendants of the migrants at that time represented 10 million people. The second wave of emigration dates back to the 1960s and continued until the end of the 1980s.

Today, Lebanese communities can also be found in Australia, Europe, the Arab world, West Africa, the United States, Mexico, Argentina or Colombia.

Once there, the Lebanese generally integrate easily and often take on responsibilities in the political world (Elie Abourd, or Abdala Bucaram and Alberto Dahik respectively, former president and former vice president of Ecuador, Ali Haïdar. ...) in the business world (Carlos Slim, Carlos Ghosn, Nicolas Hayek, Joe Jamail, Iskanda Safa ...), in the arts (Paul Anka, Guy Béart, Francis Lalanne, Louis Chedid, Franck Zappa, Mika, Shakira, Salma Hayek, ...) or in letters (Amin Maalouf).

Key figures of the Lebanese Diaspora

• 13 million people of Lebanese culture abroad.
• 6 million inhabitants on the spot.
• 1 million Lebanese nationals abroad