A World Bank report reveals that the country with coasts in eastern Mediterranean Sea faces one of the worst financial and economic falls since 19th century.

For this reason, the report said, almost 60 percent of Lebanese fell below poverty line, estimated at $ 3.64 a day.

Lebanese pound lost more than 100 percent of its value to US dollar in the informal market causing a fall in ordinary citizens’ purchasing power.

A family of five spent in 2019 about 675,000 Lebanese pounds for food, which at official exchange rate of 1,500 per unit of US currency was about 450 dollars.

But today, with depreciation it barely reaches 30.

Nine out of 10 Lebanese get their salary in national currency, which, by the way, remains the same as that of two years ago.

pgh/lcp