BEIRUT, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A former Lebanese official said on Monday that 2 million Lebanese people are expected to live under the poverty line in 2020 if the government does not focus on the social situation.
"The social situation in Lebanon has reached an unprecedented level of danger and the country has never witnessed such poverty levels before," said Richard Kuyumjian, former Lebanese social affairs minister, according to Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
The poverty rate in Lebanon is likely to soar to 50 percent in 2020 from the World Bank's estimate of 32 percent in 2018, he warned.
Lebanon has been witnessing a difficult economic condition amid months of nationwide protests aimed at changing the current ruling political system.
The economic slowdown has led to the closure of thousands of businesses and the layoff of thousands of employees in Lebanon.
