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Lebanon Population mostly comprises of people belonging to various sects, ethnicities and groups. They belong to various Muslim and Christian groups. But the Lebanon demographics records regarding their exact number and religious affiliations have not been arrived at since the issue is a controversial and sensitive one.
Among the host of ethnic groups in Lebanon, the Lebanese are in majority. Originally most of them were Arabs who migrated to Lebanon in the 7th century and exerted their influence over the native culture. The Lebanese people are genetically traced to the Jordanians and the Syrians. The Maronite Christians consider the Canaanites, Syriacs, Phoenicians, and Mardaites to be their antecedents. The Melkite Greek Catholics show more allegiance to their Greek descent. A section of the Christian population claims themselves to be a part of the line of Crusader knights.
A section of the population of Lebanon comprises of Palestinian refugees. While some of them are themselves refugees, others are still demarcated as refugees owing to their lineage. The Palestinians are deprived of rights enjoyed by others and their presence seems hardly tolerable to the Shia and Sunni Muslims. There is a group of Syrian workers in the population too, who have migrated to Lebanon and offer cheap labor .They are not citizens of Lebanon and their exact number is disputed. People of other nationalities have also settled down in Lebanon, prominent among them being the Malaysians, Indonesians and people from Philippines.
The division of people in Lebanon on the basis of religion is rampant. There are several religious groups and sub groups and their rivalries exist since time immemorial. In fact Lebanon records the presence of the largest number of Christians in Muslim country. Buddhist and Hindus are a minority. There is a significant presence of a Lebanese diaspora.
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