Krise im Libanon eine schlimmsten seit 150 Jahren

Ein vor kurzem erschienener Bericht der Weltbank über die Situation im Libanon zeichnet ein verheerendes Bild:

Lebanon's economic collapse is likely to rank among the world's worst financial crises since the mid-19th century, the World Bank said in a damning report released on Tuesday.

The report predicts that Lebanon's economy will shrink by close to 10 percent in 2021 and stresses that there is "no clear turning point on the horizon, given the disastrous deliberate policy inaction".

Lebanon defaulted on its debt last year, the currency lost around 85 percent of its value and poverty is devastating a country once seen as a place of prosperity in the region.

"The economic and financial crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top three, most severe crisis episodes globally since the mid-19th century," the report said.

The latest World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor report, entitled Lebanon Sinking: To the Top Three, said such brutal economic collapses were usually the result of conflicts or wars.

The complete meltdown of Lebanon's economy over the past 18 months is widely blamed on corruption and mismanagement by the country's hereditary political elite.