The International Republican Institute, in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, issued its Lebanon Public Opinion Survey 2018, which examines the main economic, political, and security concerns of Lebanese citizens. The Institute indicated that the majority of Lebanese citizens are pessimistic about the direction of the country and recognize that governance is deteriorating on different levels. In fact, 95% of surveyed Lebanese considered that the country is heading in the wrong direction, but this degree of pessimism varies across income groups, as 22% of upper-income respondents were optimistic relative to 5% of low-income participants. Also, more than 50% of Lebanese citizens considered that the situation in Lebanon has worsened since the May 2018 parliamentary elections. Also, 77% of respondents reported challenging economic conditions, 56% cited a deterioration in their personal finances, 53% indicated that the country's reputation is worsening abroad, 53% said that the overall quality of living is deteriorating, and 39% reported security conditions to be worsening in Lebanon. In contrast, only 8% of participants saw an improvement in the country's situation, while 40% did not see any change in the status quo.

In parallel, the survey revealed that participants identified 34 different issues as the top problems facing Lebanon today. As such, corruption was the most widespread issue for 16% of respondents, followed by electricity for 15% of participants, employment and the cost of living for 10% of participants each, water for 6% of respondents, and poverty for 5% of participants. More generally, the survey indicated that 36% of respondents identified economic conditions as their primary concern, while 33% of participants noted that the country's infrastructure was their priority issue. Also, 8% of respondents said that social problems were their primary concern, while issues related to security and political conflict were highlighted by 7% of participants. 

The International Republican Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy around the world. The survey was conducted in October 2018 on a sample of 1,200 respondents, distributed equally between genders, and who are representative of the confessional and geographical distribution of Lebanese citizens.