Lebanese economy projected to contract 7% over war
5/21/2026 7:21:38 PM
The ongoing war in Lebanon is expected to shrink the country’s economy by at least 7 percent this year and could cost the country an estimated $20bn.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told the Reuters news agency he expects the current war to prompt an economic contraction of between 7 percent and 10 percent in 2026.
The 2024 war cost Lebanon at least $8.5bn in physical damage and economic losses, according to the World Bank. Lebanon’s real GDP contracted by 7.1 percent in 2024, the World Bank said, leading to a cumulative GDP decline of nearly 40 percent since 2019.
In January, the World Bank projected a modest recovery of 4 percent GDP growth in 2026 if the country remained stable, brought in some reconstruction aid and kept up efforts to introduce financial reforms.
Jaber said the government had hoped for a budget surplus this year, but instead allocated $50m in public funds to support more than one million people displaced by the war.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told the Reuters news agency he expects the current war to prompt an economic contraction of between 7 percent and 10 percent in 2026.
The 2024 war cost Lebanon at least $8.5bn in physical damage and economic losses, according to the World Bank. Lebanon’s real GDP contracted by 7.1 percent in 2024, the World Bank said, leading to a cumulative GDP decline of nearly 40 percent since 2019.
In January, the World Bank projected a modest recovery of 4 percent GDP growth in 2026 if the country remained stable, brought in some reconstruction aid and kept up efforts to introduce financial reforms.
Jaber said the government had hoped for a budget surplus this year, but instead allocated $50m in public funds to support more than one million people displaced by the war.