Lebanon’s Young People Are Not Losing Hope. They Are Losing Opportunities, and Lebanon Risks Losing Its Future.

“Every generation faces defining moments. For Lebanon’s young people, those moments have become their everyday reality.

They have grown up through years of overlapping crises and for many, instability has become the backdrop of their adolescence and early adulthood. Yet resilience alone cannot replace opportunity.

Lebanon is a young country. Approximately 44 per cent of its estimated six million people are under the age of 24, making young people one of the country’s greatest assets and most important investments for the future.

Yet even before the latest escalation, young people were already facing significant barriers to building secure and fulfilling their lives. In 2022, youth unemployment reached 47.8 per cent—more than double the national average—driven by economic collapse, currency devaluation and widespread business closures. Young women faced greater obstacles, with nearly one third not engaged in employment, education or training.

Today, the transition from education to employment, from dependence to independence, and from uncertainty to hope, has become increasingly difficult.

A recent UNICEF assessment among surveyed young people aged 18–29 years found that nearly all (95.4 %) reported feeling sometimes sad or depressed. This reflects not only a mental health concern, but the emotional toll of prolonged crisis and uncertainty, financial pressure and repeated shocks. Behind these figures are young people carrying family responsibilities while struggling to imagine a stable future.

Education, previously one of Lebanon’s strongest foundations, is also under strain. Only 22.2 % of young respondents are currently attending school or university, with financial barriers cited as the main obstacle. 

The challenges are deeply interconnected. Economic hardship limits access to education. Interrupted learning reduces employment prospects. Unemployment increases psychological distress. Exposure to conflict and instability compounds these pressures. Without integrated action, these pressures will continue to reinforce one another.

The data point to exactly where action is needed. Nearly 80 per cent of young people say cash assistance is their most urgent need, while more than four in five say they cannot afford school or university costs.

Young people need sustained financial support, affordable access to education and training, safe pathways to decent work, and dedicated mental health and psychosocial services that respond to their specific needs.

These investments are not only humanitarian priorities—they are essential for Lebanon’s recovery. Young people are not passive recipients of assistance. Across the country, they continue to support their families, volunteer in their communities and create solutions despite immense challenges. Given the opportunity, they can drive innovation, strengthen social cohesion and contribute to economic recovery.

Perhaps the most hopeful finding in this: although more than half of surveyed young people say they intend to migrate, nearly 69 per cent say they would stay in Lebanon if conditions improved.

Young people are not turning away from their country. They are searching for opportunities that will allow them to build their future at home. 

As Lebanon marks International Youth Day, that is the test facing the Lebanese government and every donor conference.

UNICEF Lebanon is ready to work with the Government and partners to deliver at the scale this generation needs. What happens next will be decided not by what young people are willing to endure, but by whether Lebanon and the international community invest in the opportunities, services and support they need to build their future at home.