The Socio-Economic Condition in Lebanon: Reality and Prospects report was launched on 11 August, 2004. It is the output of an extended and coordinated effort between the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs and United Nations Development Programme through the project “ Capacity Building for Poverty Reduction”. This report attempts to compile the major existing data covering the period between 1996 and 2002, with emphasis on the status of the social sectors in the country: Education, Health, Employment, Housing, Labor, Social Protection and others. It deals with these issues and indicators from a developmental perspective and in an analytical manner, providing suggestions for policy recommendations.