Lebanon rose to 162nd place on women’s economic rights in 2026

An improvement in ranking that must not mask the weakness of the real framework

Lebanon was ranked 162nd out of 190 countries in the world, 39th out of 50 lower middle-income countries and 7th out of 20 Arab countries on the pillar of the legal framework of the reportWomen, Business and the Law 2026World Bank. One year earlier, the country was ranked 168th in the world, 44th among the lower middle-income economies and 8th in the Arab world. On a comparable scale between the 2025 and 2025 editions, Lebanon has therefore gained six places worldwide, five places among the lower middle-income countries and one place in the Arab region. But this improvement in rank does not mean that the country has reached a satisfactory level of protection or economic equality for women. She only indicated that her relative position was slightly adjusted in a ranking where her score remained low.

The central point is not the gain of six places. This is the persistent gap between the rank progression and the weakness of the absolute result. On the legal pillar, Lebanon scores 46.8 points out of 100, while the global average is 67 points, the average of the lower middle-income countries is 58.4 points, and the Arab average is 40.4 points. The country therefore does better than the regional average on this specific pillar, but remains well below the global average and the average of its income category. This nuance prevents the classification from being seen as a decisive step forward.

What exactly does the World Bank survey measure?

The paper recalls that the World Bank survey assesses how laws influence equal opportunities for women at different stages of their working lives, as well as their empowerment and participation in the labour market. The 2026 edition is organised around three pillars: legal frameworks, support frameworks and enforcement perceptions. Each of these pillars is calculated as the unweighted average of ten indicators. These include safety, mobility, remuneration, work, marriage, entrepreneurship, parenting, childcare, assets and pensions. A score of 100 means that men and women have equal legal rights in the ten areas measured.

This methodological architecture deserves to be stressed because it avoids too narrow a reading of economic equality. The report does not focus solely on employment or wages. It also looks at a woman’s ability to move, decide to work, manage assets, start a business, retain rights after marriage or after having children, and receive a pension. In other words, the issue is not just that of the labour market; It is that of all the rules that determine economic autonomy.

The details of the pillars show a greater weakness than the only written right

Lebanon is not only badly placed on the legal pillar. It is also 159th in the world, 43rd among the lower middle-income countries and 13th out of 20 Arab countries on the support framework pillar, with a score of 26.4 points, compared with a global average of 46.8, an Arab average of 34.1 and an average of 38.7 for the lower middle-income countries. On the pillar of application perceptions, it ranks 148th in the world, 38th among the lower middle-income countries and 9th in the Arab world, with a score of 36.8 points, against a global average of 53.3, an Arab average of 37.2 and an average of 44.7 in its income category.

This triptych is revealing. Lebanon appears to be relatively less positioned on legal texts than on practical support mechanisms. Its score of 46.8 on the legal pillar exceeds the Arab average of 40.4, but its score of 26.4 on support frameworks remains well below the regional average of 34.1. This suggests that the problem is not only the existence of formal standards. It also depends on the institutional ecosystem which must make these rights usable in real life: access to justice, services, data, public policies, administrative mechanisms and accompanying mechanisms.

A regional place less bad than expected, but in a group itself not performing

The Arab ranking can give the first glance the impression that Lebanon occupies an honourable position, since it is 7th out of 20 economies on the legal pillar. The country is in front of Tunisia, Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Libya, Syria, Mauritania, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. But it remains behind Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

This seventh regional level should therefore be read with caution. Being relatively well placed in an area where deviations from global standards remain large does not amount to high performance. The Arab average on the legal pillar is only 40.4 points. Lebanon surpasses it, but this does not change the fact that it remains at 162nd place in the world. The regional level can flatter political reading; world ranking and absolute score restore reality.

International comparisons of the document speak for themselves

The document provides several targeted comparisons. On the legal pillar, among the economies with GDP in excess of $10 billion, Lebanon is ahead of Pakistan, Tunisia and Algeria, but behind Egypt, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. Among the lower middle-income countries, it is ahead of Pakistan and Tunisia, but remains behind Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. On the support framework pillar, it is located in front of Venezuela, Chad and Libya, but behind Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea and Senegal. On enforcement perceptions, it is ahead of Mauritania, Haiti and Nigeria, but it is behind Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago and Tunisia.

These rapprochements show that Lebanon compares not only with its immediate neighbours, but with a very different set of countries. Even in this heterogeneous group, it does not appear as a leading country. In the Lebanese public debate, regional comparison is often preferred; The document points out that the country remains very much in decline at the global level.

Support frameworks are the weakest link

Lebanon’s score of 26.4 out of 100 on the support framework pillar is probably the most severe indicator of the document. This pillar assesses measures or mechanisms that enable women to exercise their rights effectively: public policies, institutions, access to justice mechanisms, programmes and services, and data systems supporting law enforcement. With 26.4 points, Lebanon is 20.4 points below the global average, 12.3 points below the average for lower middle-income countries and 7.7 points below the Arab average.

The weakness of the result suggests a typical Lebanese difficulty: the gap between the standard and its implementation infrastructure. It is not enough for a fee to exist on paper to produce an economic effect. There is still a need for administrations, courts, information systems, child care, redress mechanisms and public programmes to make this right accessible. The 26.4 score indicates that the problem is deeply institutional.

Application perceptions show that confidence in execution remains limited

The enforcement perception pillar captures the way experts assess the action of public authorities in applying equal pay rules, including consistency of implementation and the ability to deal with violations. Lebanon scores 36.8 points, just below the Arab average of 37.2, but well below the global average of 53.3.

A score of less than 40 in 100 does not indicate a mere administrative delay; It refers to a deeper difficulty in enforcing the principles announced. In a degraded economic context, this weakness can have direct effects on female employment, wage growth and incentives to undertake.

Summary table of Lebanese results in 2026

Source: World Bank, taken from the document.

The reading of this table is clear. Lebanon is above the Arab average only on the legal pillar. It is below the Arab, global and LMIC averages on support frameworks, and slightly below the Arab average on enforcement perceptions. The internal hierarchy of scores therefore shows a country where written law progresses faster than the conditions for its implementation.

Why this question is so economic

The paper states that the survey measures how laws affect women’s economic empowerment and participation in the labour force. This precision is fundamental. The subject is not societal in the narrow sense; It is also productive, fiscal and macroeconomic. When rules on mobility, work, childcare, assets or pensions hinder women’s autonomy, the labour market becomes less inclusive and the economy is depriving itself of part of its potential.

In the Lebanese case, the issue becomes even more prominent because the economy is going through a long-term crisis. The tables in the document show a real GDP decline of 7.6% in 2024 and an average inflation still high at 45.2% that same year. In a weakened economy, limiting women’s economic participation or making their activity more socially and administratively costly is tantamount to further reducing the country’s resilience.

A striking contrast with the launch of a programme to support female entrepreneurship

The same issue of the document mentions the launch of the Lebanon Women Empowerment Program by Endeavor Lebanon and L-Oréal Lebanon, in partnership with ESA Business School and Publicis. The programme aims to support Lebanese women-led businesses, strengthen their operations, develop their leadership skills and facilitate access to networks, workshops, mentoring and market opportunities. It targets companies with at least $300,000 in annual revenues and expansion ambitions.

This initiative illustrates an important contrast. On the one hand, an international ranking shows the weakness of legal frameworks, support mechanisms and enforcement. On the other hand, private and voluntary actors try to compensate some of these shortcomings with targeted programmes. But this also highlights a structural limit: an acceleration programme does not replace legal reforms or a coherent public policy of childcare, access to justice, property protection or economic equality.

World Bank, reference institution for ranking

The World Bank is the international institution behind the reportWomen, Business and the Law 2026cited in the document.

The figures provide a diagnosis: Lebanon has improved its relative rank, but remains far from global standards, especially beyond the texts.

The issue now is no longer the classification alone, but the ability to transform the law into an operating right.