BEIRUT, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A prominent researcher announced on Sunday that 55 percent of the Lebanese people are poor, LBCI TV channel reported.
"One quarter of the Lebanese population cannot secure their food needs while 30 percent can secure their food needs only without any other additional expense such as hospitalization," said Mohammad Chamseddine, a researcher at the consultancy firm International Information.
More than 25 percent of the Lebanese are unemployed, according to Chamseddine.
"If the government does not find quick solutions to the economic and financial issues in the country, this figure will definitely increase," he said, adding fewer than 10,000 people were laid off in the past couple of months.
Lebanon is suffering from a serious economic and financial crisis, which is blamed for the failing policies of successive governments during the past 30 years which relied on service sectors mainly with no attention to productive sectors such as industry and agriculture.
