Lebanon's human development performance has improved vastly since the 1990s, with better access to public services. However, the country still faces several challenges in human development, according to the 2011 UNDP Human Development Challenges Report, released in February 2012.

Lebanon fares well compared to countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with high human development rates. However, it faces the same challenges as regional countries, especially when it comes to the empowerement of citizens, achieving social justice and freedom, health and access to natural resources, and job creation, among others.

Lebanon, like many countries in the region, has not been able to create decent employment. In order to address this problem, the country must address macroeconomic and sectoral issues. More effort must be spent on expanding economic activities and investment in sectors with high potential for creating jobs. This would increase the competitiveness of the country and stimulate growth in a productive sector, thereby creating more jobs in that sector. This, according to the report, applies to most countries in the region outside the GCC.

Lebanese fares better than other countries on per capita share of renewable water resources, but this resource is threatened, and stakeholders must come up with a sustainable strategy to address the issues of mismanagement and poor infrastructure. In addition, Lebanon continues to suffer from debt issues. Long periods of civil strife, followed by occupation and recurrent political shocks, has led to an accumulation of budget deficits and a public debt crisis. The government must address the issue of public resources allocation as well as revenue creation in order to control the rising debt figures.

More broadly, the UNDP report argues that countries in the Arab world need to move from a rent-based political economy to diversified developmental states. This happens through the adoption of political, social and administrative accountability mechanisms that promote inclusive development. The report is optimistic that the region has the human recourses, industrial and agricultural potential, knowledge and expertise, as well as financial resources and technologies to alleviate problems of resource scarcity. However, it takes an overarching strategy, engaging both the public and private sector, and proper implementation, to get those countries on the right track.