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

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Background: 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'ath 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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005.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.


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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: 187,437 km²
Land: 185,887 km²
Water: 1550 km²
Note: includes 1,295 km² of Israeli-occupied territory
Rank: 89
Comparative: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Total: 2,343 km
Border countries: (5) Iraq 599 km; , Israel 79 km; , Jordan 362 km; , Lebanon 394 km; , Turkey 909 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
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
Agricultural land: 75.8% (2011 est.)
Forest: 2.7% (2011 est.)
Other: 21.5% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,280 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstormsvolcanism: 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-controlled Golan Heights (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: 19,398,448 (July 2020 est.)
Note: approximately 22,000 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2016)
Rank: 63
Growth rate: 4.25%
Growth rate note: NA (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 1
Below poverty line: 82.5% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Syrian(s)
Adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups: Arab ~50%, Alawite ~15%, Kurd ~10%, Levantine ~10%, other ~15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrian, Turkoman, Armenian)

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

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 33.47% (male 3,323,072/female 3,170,444)
15-24 years: 19.34% (male 1,872,903/female 1,879,564)
25-54 years: 37.31% (male 3,558,241/female 3,679,596)
55-64 years: 5.41% (male 516,209/female 534,189)
65 years and over: 4.46% (male 404,813/female 459,417) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.4
Youth dependency ratio: 47.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.6
Potential support ratio: 13.2 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 23.5 years
Male: 23 years
Female: 24 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 177

Population growth rate: 4.25%
Note: NA (2020 est.)
Rank: 1

Birth rate: 23.8 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 50

Death rate: 4.5 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 206

Net migration rate: 27.1 migrant(s)/1000 population
Note: NA (2020 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: 55.5% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.43% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 2.392 million DAMASCUS (capital), 1.917 million Aleppo, 1.336 million Hims (Homs), 922,000 Hamah (2020)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; depletion of water resources; 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(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 16.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 18.1 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 14.7 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 91

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.7 years
Male: 72.3 years
Female: 75.3 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 143

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 54

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Urban: 1% of population
Rural: 0.7% of population
Total: 0.6% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.29 physicians/1000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0.4% of population
Rural: 1.4% of population
Total: 0.9% of population (2017 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate note: <.1% (2019)
People living with hivaids note: <1000 (2019)
Deaths note: <100 (2019)

Major infectious diseases

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

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 5.8% (2009/10)
Rank: 79

Education expenditures
Note: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 86.4%
Male: 91.7%
Female: 81% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years
Male: 9 years
Female: 9 years (2013)

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)
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 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins midnight on the last Friday in March; ends at midnight on the last Friday in October: etymology: Damascus is a very old city; its earliest name, Temeseq, first appears in an Egyptian geographical list of the 15th century B.C., but the meaning is uncertain

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 (Aleppo), 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 (sharia) law (for family courts)

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

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 (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006)
Head of government: Prime Minister Hussein ARNOUS (since 30 August 2020); Deputy Prime Minister Ali Abdullah AYOUB (Gen.) (since 30 August 2020)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second 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 (Bath Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Peoples Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority preferential vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 19 July 2020 (next to be held in 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%; seats by party - NPF 200, other 50; composition - men 217, women 33, percent of women 13.2%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council (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 serve 4-year renewable terms
Subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court (established June 2012)

Political parties and leaders: legal parties/alliances: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Bashar al-ASAD, regional secretary] Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD] Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI] National Progressive Front or NPF [Bashar al-ASAD, Suleiman QADDAH] (alliance includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party) Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN]Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL] Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Ali HAIDAR]Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]Major Kurdish parties Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Shahoz HASAN and Aysha HISSO]Kurdish National Council [Sa'ud MALA] 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, ICSID, 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, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
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
In the us note: Embassy ceased operations and closed on 18 March 2014
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); note - on 6 February 2012, the US closed its embassy in Damascus; Czechia serves as a protecting power for US interests in Syria
From the us telephone: [963] (11) 3,391-4,444
From the us embassy: Abou Roumaneh, 2 Al Mansour Street, Damascus
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus
From the us FAX: [963] (11) 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 (Guardians of the Homeland)
Lyricsmusic: 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


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Economy overview

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

Real gdp growth rate:
Note: data are in 2015 dollars
Rank: 224

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 180

Gross national saving:
Rank: 121

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 73.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 26% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 18.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 12.3% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 16.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -46.1% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 20% (2017 est.)
Industry: 19.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 60.8% (2017 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, automobile assembly

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (2017 est.)
Rank: 70

Labor force: 3.767 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 93
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 16%
By occupation services: 67% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 218

Youth unemployment

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

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: 1.162 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 3.211 billion (2017 est.)
Note: government projections for FY2016
Surplus or deficit: -8.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 203

Taxes and other revenues: 4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 219

Public debt:
Rank: 23

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 222

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

Current account balance:
Rank: 168

Exports:
Rank: 147
Partners: Lebanon 31.5%, Iraq 10.3%, Jordan 8.8%, China 7.8%, Turkey 7.5%, Spain 7.3% (2017)
Commodities: crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat

Imports:
Rank: 128
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Partners: Russia 32.4%, Turkey 16.7%, China 9.5% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 159

Debt external:
Rank: 133

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 1 million (2019)
Access electrification total population: 92% (2019)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2019)
Access electrification rural areas: 84% (2019)
Production: 17.07 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 84
Consumption: 14.16 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 82
Exports: 262 million kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 72
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 207
Installed generating capacity: 9.058 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 64
Generation sources fossil fuels: 83% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 76
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 190
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 17% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 98
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 207

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 25,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 63
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 202
Crude oil imports: 87,660 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 45
Crude oil proven reserves: 2.5 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 30

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 111,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 66
Products consumption: 134,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 71
Products exports: 12,520 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 79
Products imports: 38,080 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 92

Natural gas
Production: 3.738 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 53
Consumption: 3.738 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 67
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 195
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 196
Proven reserves: 240.7 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 40

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 27.51 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 75

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,097,164
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16.66 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 42
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 21.115 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 113.58 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 58

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and 5 satellite channels; 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 (2018)

Internet
Country code: .sy
Users total: 6,077,510
Users percent of population: 34.25% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 78

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,328,688
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2018 est.)
Rank: 66


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces:

Military service age and obligation: 18-42 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve (2019)

Space program

Terrorist groups: Abdallah Azzam Brigades; Ansar al-Islam; Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq; Hizballah; Hurras al-Din; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party; Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem; al-Nusrah Front (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham); al-Qa'ida; Palestine Liberation Front; PFLP-General Command; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (2020)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in a title='Appendix-T' href='../appendix/appendix-t.html'>Appendix-T/a>


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 11
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 17,896 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 30,000
Note: mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YK (2016)

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

Heliports: 6 (2013)

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

Railways
Total: 2,052 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 1801 km
Note: 1.050-m gauge (2014)
Narrow gauge: 251 km
Rank: 74

Roadways
Total: 69,873 km (2010)
Paved: 63,060 km (2010)
Unpaved: 6,813 km (2010)
Rank: 71

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

Merchant marine
Total: 25
By type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 10, other 14 (2019)
Rank: 139

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Baniyas, Latakia, Tartus


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Disputes international: Golan Heights is Israeli-controlled with an almost 1,000-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: 13,311 (Iraq) (2019); 562,312 (Palestinian Refugees) (2020)
IDPs: 6.1 million (ongoing civil war since 2011) (2020)
Stateless persons: 160,000 (2019); note - Syrias 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 Syrias ongoing civil war
Note: the ongoing civil war has resulted in more than 5.5 million registered Syrian refugees - dispersed in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of November 2020

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