Lebanese people in the United Arab Emirates have a population exceeding 80,000,[3] closer estimates report a total of 156,000 Lebanese in the Emirates. Lebanese people form one of the largest communities of non-citizen Arabs in the UAE. In addition, an increasing number of Lebanese students seeking education and career opportunities opted for the country in light of its relatively reputable institutions across the Middle East, the case that applies mostly to those born in United Arab Emirates.
The Lebanese people tend to be spread out over various emirates of the country, with areas of high concentration being Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.Currently, the Lebanese job market is fully dominant by Lebanese national especially for specific industries such as consulting where large population of Lebanese are spread across all big consulting firms.
Background
Early migration of Lebanese people to the Emirates began during Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) which resulted in a high influx of Lebanese moving their businesses to Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and continued to do so during the 1990s and the further ongoing civil unrest in Lebanon due to the 2011 Syrian Civil War.
The majority of Lebanese expatriates that fled during the Lebanese Civil War to the UAE are highly educated, fluent in both French and English languages, and affluent as well as being involved in business and the media as beauty surgeons, businessmen, artists, presenters and news anchors.
Economic contributions
There are over fifteen thousand (15,000) Lebanese companies operating in the Jebel Ali Free Zone alone, an economic hub located in Jebel Ali, a city in Dubai.
The Late Antoine Choueiri: owner of the Middle East's largest media broker (Choueiri Group) that controls Arabian Media Services International, MEMS, Arabian Outdoor, Times International, Audio Visual Media, C Media, Press Media, Digital Media Services, Interadio, Promofair, AMC and SECOMM.
Elie Khouri: Media mogul who runs his advertising empire from the UAE.[4]
Lebanon portal
