The Lebanese Republic (Arabic:), located on the east coast of the Mediterranean in southwest Asia, is customarily called the Middle East country. The country borders Syria in the east and north, Palestine (Israel, with unknown border) in the south and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Lebanon was once a French colony, and it became independent from 1943 to165438+1October 22nd. Beirut, the capital, covers an area of 10452 square kilometers and has a population of 3,727,703 (2000).