The most data poor country
in the world is Lebanon

Minister of Social Affairs during the launch

of the Gender Handbook and online platform

"Lebanon is the most data poor country in the world,” said the Minister of Social affairs Haneen Sayed, which hampers policy-making on gender issues.

Sayed was participating in a panel organized during the launch of The Gender Handbook of Lebanon and its accompanying online platform infopro.com.lb/gender both published by InfoPro.

Other panel participants included the Lebanon representatives of UNDP, Blerta Aliko and UN Women Gielan El Messiri. The panel was moderated by Lamia Moubayed, President of the Institute of Finance – Basil Fuleihan.

Sayed lauded the Handbook and the online platform and deplored that it should have been the government’s job to undertake such an endeavor. The Minister said that she is pushing for all official statistics to be published, especially household surveys undertaken by the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS).

Blerta Aliko said that out of approximately 80 SDG gender-related indicators identified by the United Nations, only 12 are systematically collected by local national institutions. She said that efforts are needed to start bridging the gap between data availability and its use in policy. "The lack of standardized methodologies and harmonization complicates efforts to interpret and use gender data consistently," she said.

Gielan El Messiri joined SAyed in calling for strengthening the resources at CAS. "There is plenty of data around but it is often not segregated by gender," she said. She said that there is a need to focus on the institutionalization of gender data within the national statistical system, within a comprehensive national statistical strategy that prioritizes the production and use of gender-specific data across government ministries.

InfoPro was among the first research companies in Lebanon to conduct comprehensive studies focused on gender issues. As the number of studies grew, so did the sectors they covered. Yet, interestingly, the core questions remained largely unchanged, and the dissemination of the data remained limited. While gender awareness has taken root in the ecosystems of international organizations and certain NGOs dedicated to women’s issues, gender considerations remain conspicuously absent from the discourse of government bodies, economic associations, and much of civil society.

"The problem lies in the fact that the conversation has remained largely confined to its existing circles. In many ways, it has become an exercise in preaching to the converted. One of the main goals of this handbook, and its accompanying online platform or observatory, is precisely to address this gap: to extend the reach of gender data and insights beyond the already-engaged community," said Ramzi El Hafez, InfoPro's founder.

"Although women constitute 53 percent of Lebanon’s working-age population, their labor force participation remains low at 22 percent, compared to 66 percent for men. Only about 15 percent of women are actually employed," said Jennifer Abumrad, the handbook's lead researcher. Among a flurry of statistics, he highlighted that women represent only 21 percent of the public sector workforce, mostly concentrated in education, with scant presence in security forces and politics. In the 2022 parliamentary elections, only six percent of successful candidates were women, although female candidates have higher success rates in the 2025 municipal elections.