Map of Syria | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005.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: 1,550 km²
Note: includes 1,295 km² of Israeli-occupied territory
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
Highest point: Mount Hermon (Jabal a-Shayk) 2,814 m
Lowest point: Yarmuk River -66 m
Mean elevation: 514 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 75.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 25.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 5.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 44.6% (2018 est.)
Forest: 2.7% (2018 est.)
Other: 21.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,100 km² (2013)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 1.48 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 620 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 14.67 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 16.8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms

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: 22,933,531 (2023 est.)
Note: approximately 22,900 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2018)
Growth rate: 6.39% (2023 est.)
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
Major-language samples:

Religions: Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%
Note: the Christian population may be considerably smaller as a result of Christians fleeing the country during the ongoing civil war

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 33.27% (male 3,914,737/female 3,716,362)
15-64 years: 62.58% (male 7,141,423/female 7,209,386)
65 years and over: 4.15% (2023 est.) (male 445,288/female 506,335)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.4
Youth dependency ratio: 53
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.4
Potential support ratio: 13.5 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 23.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 23.3 years
Female: 24.5 years

Population growth rate: 6.39% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 22.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 45.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.) NA

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: 57.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 5.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.585 million DAMASCUS (capital), 2.203 million Aleppo, 1.443 million Hims (Homs), 996,000 Hamah (2023)

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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 25.14 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 28.83 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 12.93 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 30 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 15.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 17.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 73.1 years
Female: 76.1 years

Total fertility rate: 2.74 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.6% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 99.8% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.4% of population
Unimproved rural: 0.7% of population
Unimproved total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: NA

Physicians density: 1.29 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 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
Rate ages 15 24 total: 26.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 21.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 51.1%


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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+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
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; note - UN-sponsored talks, which began in late 2019 between delegates from government and opposition forces to draft a new constitution; in March 2022, the 7th round of the Syrian Constitutional Committee ended in Geneva with no results
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 (Lt. Gen.) (since 30 August 2020)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 26 May 2021 (next to be held in 2,028); the president appoints the vice president, prime minister, and deputy prime minister
Election results:  Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 95.2%, Mahmoud Ahmad MAREI (Democratic Arab Socialist Union) 3.3%, other1.5%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral People's 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 222, women 28, percent of women 11.2%

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:

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); note - embassy closed on 18 March 2014
In the us chancery: 2,215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008; note - embassy 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 mailing address: 6,110 Damascus Place, Washington DC 20,521-6,110
From the us email address and website:

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)
Lyrics/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
Total World Heritage Sites: 6 (all cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: low-income Middle Eastern economy; prior infrastructure and economy devastated by 11-year civil war; ongoing US sanctions; sporadic trans-migration during conflict; currently being supported by World Bank trust fund; ongoing hyperinflation

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note:

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

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

Gross national saving

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, milk, olives, tomatoes, oranges, potatoes, sheep milk, lemons, limes

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

Industrial production growth rate: -14.77% (2020 est.)

Labor force: 6.143 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 26.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 21.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 51.1%

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: $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.)

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

Public debt:

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

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:

Exports:
Partners: Saudi Arabia 23%, Turkey 18%, Egypt 14%, United Arab Emirates 8%, Jordan 7%, Kuwait 5% (2019)
Commodities: olive oil, cumin seeds, pistachios, tomatoes, apples, pears, spices, pitted fruits (2019)

Imports:
Partners: Turkey 27%, China 22%, United Arab Emirates 14%, Egypt 5% (2019)
Commodities: cigarettes, broadcasting equipment, wheat flours, sunflower oil, refined petroleum (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: (2020) 2 million
Access electrification-total population: 88.8% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 100% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 74.5% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 10.082 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 13,071,080,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 347 million kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 3.687 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 95.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 4.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 38,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 38,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 80,800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 137,900 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 129,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 2.5 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 111,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 12,520 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 38,080 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 3,531,077,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 3,531,077,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 240.693 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 26.893 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 46,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 19.92 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 6.927 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 24.567 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 2,821,171 (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 16,990,714 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 80 (2021 est.)

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: 8,492,468 (2022 est.)
Users percent of population: 46.6% (2022 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,549,356 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 9 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Republican Guard), Syrian Naval Forces, Syrian Air Forces, Syrian Air Defense Forces, National Defense Forces (NDF), and Local Defense Forces (LDF) (2023)
Note: NDF and LDF are pro-government militia and auxiliary forces; some militia and auxiliary forces are backed by Iran; the Syrian military is also supported by the Russian armed forces, the Iran-affiliated Hizballah terrorist group, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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, including in combat arms (2023)
Note 1: the military is comprised largely of conscripts
Note 2: Syrian women have been serving in combat roles since 2013; in 2015, the Syrian military created an all-female commando brigade

Space program
Overview: status unclear; has been handicapped by the impact of the civil war, including the loss of students and scientists who fled the country; had previously focused on satellite development and related space technologies, as well as scientific research; has relations with the space agency and space industries of Russia (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Abdallah Azzam Brigades; Ansar al-Islam; Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq; Hizballah; Hurras al-Din; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem; al-Nusrah Front (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham); al-Qa'ida; Palestine Liberation Front; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command
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 terrorist organizations


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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 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YK

Airports: 90 (2021)
With paved runways: 29
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 61
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 6 (2021)

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

Railways
Total: 2,052 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 1,801 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 251 km (2014) 1.050-m gauge

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 22 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 8, other 13

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Baniyas, Latakia, Tartus


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Disputes international: Syria-Iraq: none identified

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 580,000 (Palestinian Refugees) (2022); 11,121 (Iraq) (2023)
IDPs: 6.865 million (ongoing civil war since 2011) (2022)
Stateless persons: 160,000 (2022); 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
Note: the ongoing civil war has resulted in nearly 5.2 million registered Syrian refugees - dispersed mainly in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey - as of October 2023

Illicit drugs: increasing drug trafficking particularly the synthetic stimulant captagon, a mixture of various amphetamines, methamphetamine, and/or other stimulants; drug smuggling of captagon and other stimulants linked to the Syrian government and Hizballah