Baabda District (), sometimes spelled B'abda, is a district (qadaa) of Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, to the south and east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The region is also popularly known as "Southern Matn District" (, transliteration: al-Matn al-Janoubi), as distinct from Northern Matn District, (; transliteration: al-Matn ash-Shimali). The capital of Baabda District is the city of Baabda.
Demographics The inhabitants of the Baabda district are mainly Maronite Catholics, Shia Muslims and Druze. Shia Muslims in the Baabda district mostly inhabit the coastal area of the district which lies directly south of Beirut. This area is also known as Dahieh or the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Druze on the other hand, live in the mountainous area further inland.
As of the elections, six seats in the Lebanese Parliament are allocated to Baabda. Three of these seats are allocated to Maronite Catholics, two to the Shi'a Muslims and one to the Druze.
CityPopulation Abadiyeh 7,900Baabda* 9,000 Bourj el-Barajneh* 25,000 Chbaniyeh 1,300 Shiyyah* 17,000 Falougha 3,500 Furn el Chebbak* 17,000 Ghbeireh* 28,000 Hadath* 20,500 Hammana 7,750 Hazmieh* 3,900 Qarnayel 3,600 Kfarshima 6,300 Ras el Matn 8,000 Salima 3,600 Wadi Chahrour 6,700
Note: starred cities are part of metropolitan Beirut.
According to registered voters in 2014:
Year Christians Muslims Druze Total Maronites Greek Orthodox Greek Catholics Other Christians Total Shias Sunnis Druze2014 2018 2022 2026 Number of registered voters (21+ years old) over the years. +YearsWomenMenTotalGrowth (%)200977,54774,043151,590201078,360 74,495 152,855 +0.83% 201178,754 75,111 153,865 +0.66% 201279,525 75,780 155,305 +0.93% 201380,809 76,694 157,503 +1.40% 201481,519 77,469 158,988 +0.93% 201582,421 78,308 160,729 +1.08% 201683,178 79,407 162,585 +1.14% 201783,998 80,224 164,222 +1.00% 201885,040 81,095 166,135 +1.15% 201985,904 81,743 167,647 +0.90% 202086,678 82,378 169,056 +0.83% 202187,197 82,843 170,040 +0.58% 202288,106 83,640 171,746 +0.99% 202388,495 83,869 172,364 +0.36% 202489,095 84,328 173,423 +0.61% 202589,614 84,731 174,345 +0.53% 2026 175,091 +0.43% Source: DGCS
Environment and archaeology
Baabda District is the source of amber sites dating from 120 million years ago that have uncovered among the oldest lizards including the Baabdasaurus, and also many insects.
Cities and towns Abadiyeh Ain el Remmaneh Araya Arbiniyeh Baabda Baalchmay Betchay Bmariam Btekhnay Bourj el-Barajneh Chbaniyeh Chiyah Deir el Haref Falougha Jouar el-Haouz Furn el Chebbak Ghobeiry Hadath Hammana Haret Hreik Haret el Sitt Hazmieh Hlaliyeh Jamhour Kfarshima Kfar Silwan Khraybeh Knaisseh Kortada Krayyeh Ksaibe Laylakeh Qalaa Qarnayel Qoubbei Ras el-Matn Salima Sebnay Tarchich Tohwita Wadi Chahrour Yarze
References
Lizard in Amber Insects in Amber