Map of Syria | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability however and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970 Hafiz al-ASAD a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD his son Bashar al-ASAD was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah.


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Location: Middle East bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Lebanon and Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N 38 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 185,180 km²
Land: 184,050 km²
Water: 1,130 km²
Note: includes 1,295 km² of Israeli-occupied territory
Comparative: slightly larger than North Dakota

Land boundaries
Total: 2,253 km
Border countries: (5) Iraq 605 km; , Israel 76 km; , Jordan 375 km; , Lebanon 375 km; , Turkey 822 km

Coastline: 193 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate: mostly desert; hot dry sunny summers (June to August) and mild rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus

Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m

Natural resources: petroleum phosphates chrome and manganese ores asphalt iron ore rock salt marble gypsum hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 24.8%
Permanent crops: 4.47%
Other: 70.73% (2005)

Irrigated land: 13,330 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: dust storms sandstorms

Geography
Note: there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)


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Population
Note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 2.244% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 11.9% (2006 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Syrian
Adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3% Kurds Armenians and other 9.7%

Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish Armenian Aramaic Circassian widely understood; French English somewhat understood

Religions: Sunni Muslim 74% other Muslim (includes Alawite Druze) 16% Christian (various denominations) 10% Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus Al Qamishli and Aleppo)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 21.1 years
Male: 20.9 years
Female: 21.2 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.244% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 27.19 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 4.74 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.061 male/female
15-64 years: 1.051 male/female
65 years and over: 0.898 male/female
Total population: 1.049 male/female (2007 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 27.7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 27.94 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 27.44 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.61 years
Male: 69.27 years
Female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 500 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 79.6%
Male: 86%
Female: 73.6% (2004 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
Conventional short form: Syria
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah
Local short form: Suriyah
Former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)

Government type: republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime

Capital
Name: Damascus
Geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah Al Ladhiqiyah Al Qunaytirah Ar Raqqah As Suwayda' Dar'a Dayr az Zawr Dimashq Halab Hamah Hims Idlib Rif Dimashq Tartus

Dependent areas

Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day 17 April (1946)

Constitution: 13 March 1973

Legal system: based on a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy
Head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers
Election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78

Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce)

Political parties and leaders: legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]); illegal parties: Kurdish Azadi Party [Khayr al-Din MURAD]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [Abd al-Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Democratic Front (includes three parties but no designated leader); Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Ali MUHAMMAD]; Kurdish Future Movement; Kurdish Yekiti Party [Hasan SALEH]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZEM]

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AMF CAEU FAO G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OIC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
In the us chancery: 2,215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 232-6,313
In the us fax: [1] (202) 234-9,548
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN
From the us embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus
From the us telephone: [963] (11) 3,391-4,444
From the us fax: [963] (11) 3,391-3,999

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) white and black colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 2.9% in real terms in 2006 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and exports and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Total foreign assets of the Central Bank and domestic banking system rose to about $20 billion in 2006 and the government strengthened the private sector foreign exchange rate by about 7% from the start of the year. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years including cutting lending interest rates opening private banks consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates and raising prices on some subsidized items most notably gasoline and cement. Nevertheless the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports weak investment high unemployment and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture rapid population growth industrial expansion and water pollution.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $78.04 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $4,100 (2006 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 24.8%
Industry: 25.1%
Services: 50.1% (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat barley cotton lentils chickpeas olives sugar beets; beef mutton eggs poultry milk

Industries: petroleum textiles food processing beverages tobacco phosphate rock mining cement oil seeds crushing

Industrial production growth rate: 1.5% (2005)

Labor force: 5.276 million (2006 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 26%
By occupation industry: 14%
By occupation services: 60% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 12.5% (2005 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 11.9% (2006 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $7.635 billion
Expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 37.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 10% (2006 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: $-583 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $9.713 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: crude oil petroleum products fruits and vegetables cotton fiber clothing meat and live animals wheat
Partners: Iraq 27.3% Germany 12.2% Lebanon 9.5% Italy 6.6% Egypt 5.3% Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)

Imports: $10.54 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment electric power machinery food and livestock metal and metal products chemicals and chemical products plastics yarn paper
Partners: Saudi Arabia 12.3% China 7.9% Egypt 6.2% UAE 6% Italy 4.9% Ukraine 4.8% Germany 4.7% Iran 4.5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $5.715 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,


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Electricity
Production: 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Consumption: 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 8.5 billion m³ (2006 est.)
Consumption: 5.1 billion m³ (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2006 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2006 est.)
Proven reserves: 230.8 billion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.243 million (2006)
Mobile cellular: 4.675 million (2006)

Telephone system
General assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
Domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network
International: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .sy
Hosts: 119 (2007)
Users: 1.5 million (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 5.9% (2005 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months (18 months in the Syrian Arab Navy); women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 90 (2007)
With paved runways total: 26
With paved runways over 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 15
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 64
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 11
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 52 (2007)

Heliports: 7 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 2,764 km; oil 2000 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 2,711 km
Standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 94,890 km
Paved: 19,073 km
Unpaved: 75,817 km (2004)

Waterways: 900 km (not economically significant) (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4)
Registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Baniyas Latakia


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Disputes international: Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000 Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 700,000 - 1.2 million (Iraq), 434,896 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
Idps: 305,000 (most displaced from Golan Heights during 1967 Arab-Israeli War) (2006)

Illicit drugs: a transit point for opiates hashish and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering