Global reinsurer Swiss Re recently published its “World Insurance in 2024” report in which it ranked Lebanon 72^nd in the world (compared to the 86^th place it occupied in the previous year) and last in the MENA region in terms of insurance penetration (being the ratio of insurance premiums to GDP) in the year 2023. More particularly, Lebanon’s insurance penetration rate stood at 0.2% in 2023 (compared to 0.4% in 2022). Morocco (global rank: 30; penetration rate: 3.9%) topped the region in terms of insurance penetration, followed by the United Arab Emirates (global rank: 39; penetration rate: 2.9%), Tunisia (global rank: 45; penetration rate: 2.2%), and Jordan (global rank: 49; penetration rate: 2.1%) among others. Globally, Hong Kong ranked first in terms of insurance penetration in the world in 2023 with a penetration rate of 17.2%, followed by the United States (11.9%), South Africa (11.5%), Denmark (11.0%) and South Korea (11.0%).

In absolute terms, Lebanon’s total insurance premiums came in just below $260 million in 2023, compared to $1.64 billion a year before, registering as such a nominal annual growth rate of -84.2% and an inflation adjusted one of -54.8%. The sizeable annual drop in Lebanon’s figures is attributed to the fact that the 2022 LBP insurance figures were converted into USD at the LBP 1,507.5/USD exchange rate, while the year 2023 figures were converted at the LBP 15,000/USD rate. Lebanon ranked 72^nd in the world (losing 11 places from the 61^st position it held in 2022) and 13^th in the MENA region. Saudi Arabia (global rank: 36; insurance premiums: $17.46 billion) came in first in the region, followed by the U.A.E. (global rank: 37; insurance premiums: $14.57 billion), Morocco (global rank: 48; insurance premiums $5.52 billion), Egypt (global rank: 51; insurance premiums: $2.55 billion), and Qatar (global rank: 54; insurance premiums $2.23 billion) in the region. Globally, the United States topped the list of covered countries in terms of total insurance premiums booked in 2023 (just below $3.23 trillion), accounting for 44.00% of world total insurance premiums, followed, and at quite a distance, by China ($723.66 billion <10.10%>) and the United Kingdom ($374.94 billion <5.20%>).