BEIRUT, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A UN study published on Wednesday said that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living in dire circumstances, local media reported.

According to the study released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon in 2018, a total of 69 percent of the refugees live under the poverty line while 51 percent live on with less than 2.9 U.S. dollars a day.

"Around 90 percent of Syrian refugees are trying to adapt from eating affordable food to taking loans and sending their children to work," UNHCR Lebanon representative, Mireille Girard, was quoted by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper, as saying.

The study also noted that around 29 percent of Syrian girls between the ages of 15 and 19 got married in 2018 to escape difficult economic situation, registering an increase of 7 percent compared to last year.

Lebanon is hosting 976,000 registered Syrian refugees, according to the UNHCR, while the government estimates the true number of Syrian refugees in the country at 1.5 million.

The UNHCR has been reluctant to encourage Syrian refugees in Lebanon to return to their homeland because of the insecurity in Syria.

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun, has repeated on many occasions the necessity of facilitating the return of refugees to reduce the burden on Lebanon's infrastructure and economy.