Statistical information Syria 2017

Syria in the World

Syria - Introduction 2017

Following World War I France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. 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 the 1967 Arab-Israeli War Syria lost the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s Syria and Israel held occasional albeit unsuccessful peace talks over its return. In November 1970 Hafiz al-ASAD a member of the socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of President Hafiz 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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005.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. In May 2007 Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was approved by popular referendum.
Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region and compounded by additional social and economic factors antigovernment protests broke out first in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge the legalization of political parties and the removal of corrupt local officials. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria with the size and intensity of protests fluctuating. The government responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law new laws permitting new political parties and liberalizing local and national elections - and with military force and detentions. The government's ongoing violence to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity has led to extended clashes between government forces their allies and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011 as the Arab League the EU Turkey and the US expanded economic sanctions against the regime and those entities that support it. In December 2012 the Syrian National Coalition was recognized by more than 130 countries as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Political negotiations between the government and opposition delegations at the UN-sponsored Geneva II conference in 2014 and the UN-sponsored Geneva III talks in 2016 failed to produce a resolution of the conflict. Unrest continues in Syria and according to an April 2016 UN estimate the death toll among Syrian Government forces opposition forces and civilians was over 400,000 As of December 2016 approximately 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria with 6.3 million people displaced internally and an additional 4.8 million Syrian refugees making the Syrian situation the largest humanitarian crisis worldwide.

Syria - Geography 2017

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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: 183,630 km²
Water: 1550 km²
Note: includes 1295 km² of Israeli-occupied territory
Rank: 90
Comparative: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Total: 2,363 km
Border countries: (5) Iraq 599 km; Israel 83 km; Jordan 379 km; Lebanon 403 km; Turkey 899 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
Mean elevation: 514 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -208 m: highest point: Mount Hermon (Jabal a-Shayk) 2,814 m

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

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 75.8%

arable land: 25.4%
permanent crops: 5.8%
permanent pasture: 44.6%

Forest: 2.7%
Other: 21.5%

Irrigated land: 14,280 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: dust storms sandstorms
Volcanism: Syria's two historically active volcanoes Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border have not erupted in centuries

Geography
Note: the capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (2017)

Syria - People 2017

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Population
Distribution: significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus Aleppo (the country's largest city) and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain the province of Halab and the Euphrates River valley
Distribution note: the ongoing civil war has altered the population distribution: 18,028,549 (July 2017 est.)
Note: approximately 20,500 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights
Rank: 63
Growth rate: 7.87% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 1
Below poverty line: 82.5% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Syrian
Adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3% Kurdish Armenian and other 9.7%

Languages: Arabic (official) Kurdish Armenian Aramaic Circassian French English

Religions: Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi Ismaili and Shia 13%) Christian 10% (includes Orthodox Uniate and Nestorian) Druze 3% Jewish (few remaining in Damascus and Aleppo)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 31.62%
15-24 years: 19.54%
25-54 years: 39.22%
55-64 years: 5.41%
65 years and over: 4.21% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 72.8
Youth dependency ratio: 65.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 7
Potential support ratio: 14.3

Median age
Total: 24.3 years
Male: 23.9 years
Female: 24.8 years
Rank: 160

Population growth rate: 7.87% (2017 est.)
Rank: 1

Birth rate: 21.2 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 75

Death rate: 4 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 211

Net migration rate: NA (2017 est.)
Rank: 1

Population distribution: significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus Aleppo (the country's largest city) and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain the province of Halab and the Euphrates River valley
Note: the ongoing civil war has altered the population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 58.5% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.59% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: Aleppo 3.562 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.566 million; Hims (Homs) 1.641 million; Hamah 1.237 million; Lattakia 781,000 (2015)

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
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.8 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 17 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 12.5 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 101

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.1 years
Male: 72.7 years
Female: 77.6 years
Rank: 111

Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 79

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 53.9% (2009/10)

Drinking water source:

urban: 92.3% of population
rural: 87.2% of population
total: 90.1% of population
urban: 7.7% of population
rural: 12.8% of population
total: 9.9% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.55 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 1.5 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

urban: 96.2% of population
rural: 95.1% of population
total: 95.7% of population
urban: 3.8% of population
rural: 4.9% of population
total: 4.3% of population (2015 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.8% (2016)
Rank: 35

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 10.1% (2009)
Rank: 70

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 70

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 86.4%
Male: 91.7%
Female: 81%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years
Male: 9 years
Female: 9 years

Youth unemployment

Syria - Government 2017

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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
Etymology: name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time the name came to be associated more with the western area

Government type: presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime

Capital
Name: Damascus
Geographic coordinates: 33 30 N 36 18 E
Time difference: UTC+2
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins midnight on the last Friday in March; ends at midnight on the last Friday in October

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

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: Independence Day (Evacuation Day) 17 April (1946); note - celebrates the leaving of the last French troops and the proclamation of full independence

Constitution
History: several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012 passed by referendum and effective 27 February 2012
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one-third of the People’s Assembly members; following review by a special Assembly committee passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote by the Assembly and approval by the president

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts)

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Syria; if the father is unknown or stateless the mother must be a citizen of Syria
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD ; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006)
Head of government: Prime Minister Imad Muhammad Dib KHAMIS ; Deputy Prime Ministers Fahd Jasim al-FURAYJ Lt. Gen.(since 23 June 2012) and Walid al-MUALEM (since 23 June 2012)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term ; election last held on 3 June 2014 (next to be held in June 2021); the president appoints the vice presidents prime minister and deputy prime ministers
Election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 88.7% Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3% Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2% other/invalid 3.8%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab
Elections: last held on 13 April 2016
Election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 80% other 20%; seats by party - NPF 200 other 50

Judicial branch
Highest court: Court of Cassation ; Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms
Subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court

Political parties and leaders
Legal partiesalliances: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Bashar al-ASAD regional secretary]: Tiyar al-Mustaqbal [Narin MATINI]
Kurdish parties: Kurdish Azadi Party
Other: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us note: Embassy ceased operations and closed on 18 March 2014
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI (since 1 June 2012)
In the us chancery: 2,215 Wyoming Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 232-6,313
In the us FAX: [1] 234-9,548
From the us chief of mission: ambassador ; US Special Envoy for Syria Michael RATNEY (since 27 July 2015); note - on 6 February 2012 the US closed its embassy in Damascus; Czechia serves as protecting power for US interests in Syria
From the us embassy: Abou Roumaneh 2 Al Mansour Street Damascus
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 29 Damascus
From the us telephone: [963] 3,391-4,444
From the us FAX: [963] 3,391-3,999

Flag description

: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) white and black; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black) overcome through bloody struggle (red) to be replaced by a bright future (white); identical to the former flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961) where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; the current design dates to 1980
Note: similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band Iraq which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band

National symbols: hawk; national colors: red white black green

National anthem
Name: 'Humat ad-Diyar'
Lyrics and music: Khalil Mardam BEY/Mohammad Salim FLAYFEL and Ahmad Salim FLAYFEL
Note: adopted 1936 restored 1961; between 1958 and 1961 while Syria was a member of the United Arab Republic with Egypt the country had a different anthem

National heritage

Syria - Economy 2017

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Economy overview:

Syria's economy continues to deteriorate amid the ongoing conflict that began in 2011 declining by more than 70% from 2010 to 2016. The government has struggled to address the effects of international sanctions widespread infrastructure damage diminished domestic consumption and production reduced subsidies and high inflation which have caused dwindling foreign exchange reserves rising budget and trade deficits a decreasing value of the Syrian pound and falling household purchasing power.
During 2014 the ongoing conflict and continued unrest and economic decline worsened the humanitarian crisis and elicited a greater need for international assistance as the number of people in need inside Syria increased from 9.3 million to 12.2 million and the number of Syrian refugees increased from 2.2 million to more than 3.3 million.
Prior to the turmoil Damascus had begun liberalizing economic policies including cutting lending interest rates opening private banks consolidating multiple exchange rates raising prices on some subsidized items and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange but the economy remains highly regulated. Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers declining oil production high unemployment rising budget deficits increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture rapid population growth industrial expansion water pollution and widespread infrastructure damage.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: the war-driven deterioration of the economy resulted in a disappearance of quality national level statistics in the 2012-13 period
Notes: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 110

Real gdp growth rate:

NA% (2016 est.)
-9.9% (2014 est.)
-36.5% (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 dollars
Rank: 219

Real gdp per capita:

$2,900 (2015 est.)
$3,300 (2014 est.)
$2,800 (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 194

Gross national saving:

19.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
20.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
18.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

Rank: 105

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 65.6%
Government consumption: 23.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 17.6%
Investment in inventories: 11.4%
Exports of goods and services: 10.8%
Imports of goods and services: -29%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 19.5%
Industry: 19%
Services: 61.5%

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 automobile assembly

Industrial production growth rate: -2.4% (2016 est.)
Rank: 177

Labor force: 3.871 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 96
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 16%
By occupation services: 67%

Labor force

Unemployment rate:

50% (2016 est.)
50% (2015 est.)

Rank: 214

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 82.5% (2014 est.)

Gini index

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

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $496.6 million
Expenditures: $2.889 billion
Note: government projections for FY2016
Surplus or deficit: -9.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 197

Taxes and other revenues: 2% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 220

Public debt:

55.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
48.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

Rank: 84

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

43.9% (2016 est.)
38.1% (2015 est.)

Rank: 224

Central bank discount rate:

0.75% (31 December 2016)
5% (31 December 2015)

Rank: 130

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

32% (31 December 2016 est.)
27% (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 4

Stock of narrow money:

$4.488 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$5.254 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 106

Stock of broad money:

$5.522 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$6.98 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 124

Stock of domestic credit:

$5.993 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$7.225 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 120

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:

$-2.077 billion (2016 est.)
$-2.955 billion (2015 est.)

Rank: 156

Exports:

$1.705 billion (2016 est.)
$1.587 billion (2015 est.)

Rank: 142
Commodities: crude oil minerals petroleum products fruits and vegetables cotton fiber textiles clothing meat and live animals wheat
Partners: Lebanon 34.6% Jordan 11.6% China 9.4% Turkey 8.2% Iraq 7.7% Tunisia 4.9% (2016)

Imports:

$5.496 billion (2016 est.)
$6.076 billion (2015 est.)

Rank: 118
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment electric power machinery food and livestock metal and metal products chemicals and chemical products plastics yarn paper
Partners: Russia 22% Turkey 20% China 11.3% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$504.6 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$772.9 million (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 145

Debt external:

$5.085 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$4.42 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Rank: 133

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:

Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar -
459.2 (2016 est.)
459.2 (2015 est.)
236.41 (2014 est.)
153.695 (2013 est.)
64.39 (2012 est.)

Syria - Energy 2017

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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 1,600,000
Access electrification total population: 96%
Access electrification urban areas: 100%
Access electrification rural areas: 81%
Production: 16.83 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 83
Consumption: 13.96 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 81
Exports: 262 million kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 73
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 205
Installed generating capacity: 9.61 million kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 62
Generation sources fossil fuels: 84.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 78
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 186
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 15.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 100
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 205

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 28,670 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 64
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 195
Crude oil imports: 83,140 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 47
Crude oil proven reserves: 2.5 billion bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 33

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 111,600 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 66
Products consumption: 140,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 73
Products exports: 12,500 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 79
Products imports: 41,120 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 91

Natural gas
Production: 4.3 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Production rank: 54
Consumption: 4.9 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 65
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 188
Imports: 249.2 million m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 69
Proven reserves: 240.7 billion m³ (1 January 2017 es)
Proven reserves rank: 42

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 49 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 61

Energy consumption per capita

Syria - Communication 2017

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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,464,846
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20
Fixed lines rank: 41
Mobile cellular total: 12,350,927
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 72
Mobile cellular rank: 66

Telephone system
General assessment: the armed insurgency that began in 2011 has led to major disruptions to the network and has caused telephone and Internet outages throughout the country
Domestic: the number of fixed-line connections increased markedly prior to the civil war in 2011; mobile-cellular service stands at about 70 per 100 persons
International: country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Egypt Lebanon and Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq Jordan Lebanon and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel (2016)

Broadcast media: state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and a satellite channel; roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station launched in 2005; private radio broadcasters prohibited from transmitting news or political content (2007)

Internet
Country code: .sy
Users total: 5,476,850
Users percent of population: 31.9%
Users rank: 71

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Syria - Military 2017

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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve (2017)

Space program

Terrorist groups

Syria - Transportation 2017

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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 11
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 475,932
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,517,388 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YK (2016)

Airports: 90 (2013)
Rank: 62
With paved runways total: 29
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 16
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 5
With unpaved runways total: 61
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 48

Heliports: 6 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 3,170 km; oil 2,029 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,052 km
Standard gauge: 1801 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge
Rank: 73

Roadways
Total: 69,873 km
Paved: 63,060 km
Unpaved: 6,813 km
Rank: 68

Waterways: 900 km (navigable but not economically significant) (2011)
Rank: 68

Merchant marine
Total: 19
By type: bulk carrier 4 cargo 14 carrier 1
Registered in other countries: 166 (2010)
Rank: 95

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Baniyas Latakia Tartus

Syria - Transnational issues 2017

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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force 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 Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation would settle border dispute with Jordan

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 438,000 (Palestinian Refugees) (2017); 16,879 (Iraq)
Note: the ongoing civil war has more than 5.3 million Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt Iraq Jordan Lebanon and Turkey - as of November 2017
IDPs: 6.3 million (2017)
Stateless persons: 160,000 ; note - Syria's stateless population consists of Kurds and Palestinians; stateless persons are prevented from voting owning land holding certain jobs receiving food subsidies or public healthcare enrolling in public schools or being legally married to Syrian citizens; in 1962 some 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship rendering them and their descendants stateless; in 2011 the Syrian Government granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds as a means of appeasement; however resolving the question of statelessness is not a priority given Syria's ongoing civil war

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