Over 6 In 10 Lebanese Want To Leave Country, Record High In 12 Years Of Surveys - Poll

The quality of life in Lebanon has deteriorated in the nation's current economic crisis to the point where 63 percent saying they want to leave permanently, a Gallup poll said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2021) The quality of life in Lebanon has deteriorated in the nation's current economic crisis to the point where 63 percent saying they want to leave permanently, a Gallup poll said on Thursday.

"The desire to leave Lebanon cuts across major Lebanese communities. Notably, more Muslims than Christians in Lebanon tell Gallup they would like to leave the country (67% vs. 57%)," a press release explaining the poll said.

Declining economic conditions in Lebanon come at a time when the country continues to be hit by extended blackouts and a fuel crisis that has put both the cost of fuel and food out of reach for many families, the release said.

The percentage of people wanting to flee the country set a new record for Gallup surveys that began in 2007.

In 2021, 85 percent of people in Lebanon say they are finding it "difficult" or "very difficult" to get by on their income, including 62 percent who say it is "very difficult." The latter figure has nearly doubled since 2019, when 32% said the same, the release said.

Just three years ago, before the onset of Lebanon's recent crisis, just 14 percent Lebanese adults said there were times in the previous year when they lacked money for food, a figure that shot up to 45 percent in 2020 after the Beirut port explosion and COVID-19 pandemic, the release added.

Today, slightly more than half of adults (53%) say they have lacked money for food, a nearly fourfold increase since 2018, according to the release.