Poverty in Lebanon tripled over the course of a decade during which the small country slid into a protracted financial crisis, the World Bank said Thursday.

The percentage of people in Lebanon living below the poverty line rose from 12% in 2012 to 44% in 2022, the bank said in a report based on surveys conducted in five of the country's eight governorates.

Lebanon's reforms are insufficient to help lift the country out of its economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

Head of the IMF mission visiting Lebanon Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, said in a statement that Lebanon's ongoing refugee crisis, clashes with Israel at its southern border and the spillover from the war in Gaza are exacerbating an already weak economic situation.