Lebanon faces one of the world's worst economic crises since the mid- 1800s, with its financial system having collapsed following decades of systematic mismanagement. The World Bank has characterised Lebanon's banking model as a "Ponzi scheme" run by political elites to systematically capture national resources. Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost over 95% of its value against the dollar, bank deposits have declined by $31 billion, and approximately 74% of the population now lives in poverty. The cash economy has become entirely dominant, with formal banking nearly non-functional for ordinary citizens.

The economy historically relied on services, particularly banking and tourism, with an oversized financial sector relative to GDP. Remittances from Lebanon's extensive diaspora traditionally provided crucial foreign currency inflows. However, capital controls imposed since 2019 have trapped depositors' savings, effectively wiping out the middle class. The economic crisis, which began in 2019, continues to devastate Lebanese society. Lebanon's gross domestic product fell 38% between 2019 and 2024, with a peak annual inflation rate of 221% in 2023. In addition, the 2023/24 conflict with Israel is estimated to have caused US$8.5 billion of damage.