Background: After World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost control of the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional, albeit unsuccessful, peace talks over its return. In 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 al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in 2000. Syrian troops that were stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role were withdrawn in 2005. During the 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 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was again approved in a referendum. In the wake of major uprisings elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Dar'a in 2011. Protesters called for the legalization of political parties, the removal of corrupt local officials, and the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria, and the government responded with concessions, but also with military force and detentions that led to extended clashes and eventually civil war. International pressure on the Syrian Government intensified after 2011, as the Arab League, the EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the ASAD regime and those entities that supported it. In 2012, more than 130 countries recognized the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. In 2015, Russia launched a military intervention on behalf of the ASAD regime, and domestic and foreign-government-aligned forces recaptured swaths of territory from opposition forces. With foreign support, the regime continued to periodically regain opposition-held territory until 2020, when Turkish firepower halted a regime advance and forced a stalemate between regime and opposition forces. The government lacks territorial control over much of the northeastern part of the country, which the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) hold, and a smaller area dominated by Turkey. Since 2016, Turkey has conducted three large-scale military operations to capture territory along Syria's northern border. Some opposition forces organized under the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and Turkish forces have maintained control of northwestern Syria along the Turkish border with the Afrin area of Aleppo Province since 2018. The violent extremist organization Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Nusrah Front) emerged in 2017 as the predominant opposition force in Idlib Province, and still dominates an area also hosting Turkish forces. Negotiations have failed to produce a resolution to the conflict, and the UN estimated in 2022 that at least 306,000 people have died during the civil war. Approximately 6.7 million Syrians were internally displaced as of 2022, and 14.6 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance across the country. An additional 5.6 million Syrians were registered refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and North Africa. The conflict in Syria remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the full-scale invasion of Ukraine). On 8 December 2024, Syrian Islamist rebels captured the capital city of Damascus and overthrew President Bashar al-ASAD. The former president and his family fled to Moscow, where they were granted political asylum. The al-ASAD regime had ruled Syria for over 50 years.

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): (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

Land use
Agricultural land: 74.1% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 24% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 5.7% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 44.5% (2023 est.)
Forest: 2.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 23% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 9,820 km² (2022)

Major rivers: Euphrates (shared with Turkey [s], Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris (shared with Turkey, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

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

Population
Total: 23,865,423 (2024 est.)
Male: 11,981,578
Female: 11,883,845
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 recent civil war has altered the population distribution
Growth rate: 1.67% (2024 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English
Major-language sample(s): ; كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic); ڕاستییەکانی جیهان، باشترین سەرچاوەیە بۆ زانیارییە بنەڕەتییەکان (Kurdish); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 33% (male 4,037,493/female 3,828,777)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 7,475,355/female 7,522,797)
65 years and over: 4.2% (2024 est.) (male 468,730/female 532,271)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 59.1 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 52.4 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.7 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 15 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 23.6 years
Female: 24.7 years

Population growth rate: 1.67% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 21.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

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 recent 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)

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 (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 20 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 16.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 73.4 years
Female: 76.4 years

Total fertility rate: 2.69 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 4.4% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 7.9% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 5.9% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 13% (2024 est.); 13.2% (2023 est.); 13.3% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

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: the city has an ancient, pre-Semitic name of unknown origin

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

Legal system: mixed 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

Executive branch
Chief of state: Ahmad al-Shara'; former President Bashar al-ASAD was overthrown by Islamist rebels on 8 December 2024
Head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad al-BASHIR (since 8 December 2024)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); the president appoints the vice president and prime minister
Most recent election date: 26 May 2021
2021: 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%, other 1.5%
2014: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%
Expected date of next election: 2,028

Legislative branch
Legislature name: People's Assembly (Majlis Al-Chaab)
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 210 (140 indirectly elected; 70 appointed)
Electoral system: plurality/majority
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 4 years
Most recent election date: 10/5/2025
Percentage of women in chamber: 9.6%
Expected date of next election: March 2,030

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black; three five-pointed red stars in a horizontal line, centered on the white band

National anthem
Title: “Ħumāt ad-Diyār (Guardians of the Homeland)
Lyrics/music: Khalil Mardam BEY/Mohammad Salim FLAYFEL and Ahmad Salim FLAYFEL
History: adopted 1936, restored 1961; the country had a different anthem between 1958 and 1961, when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 6 (all cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: -1.2% (2023 est.); 0.7% (2022 est.); 1.9% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: -1.2% (2023 est.); 0.7% (2022 est.); 1.9% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 114.8% (2022 est.)
Government consumption: 2.7% (2022 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 4.5% (2022 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 6.8% (2022 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -28.8% (2022 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 43.1% (2022 est.)
Industry: 12% (2022 est.)
Services: 44.9% (2022 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

Industrial production growth rate: -13.4% (2022 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 6.617 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 13% (2024 est.); 13.2% (2023 est.); 13.3% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 13% (2024 est.); 13.2% (2023 est.); 13.3% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $1.162 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $3.211 billion (2017 est.)
Note: government projections for FY2016

Exports: $1.609 billion (2022 est.); $2.227 billion (2021 est.); $1.649 billion (2020 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: olive oil, phosphates, spice seeds, cotton, tomatoes (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $6.803 billion (2022 est.); $6.56 billion (2021 est.); $3.751 billion (2020 est.)
Note: GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: tobacco, plastics, wheat flours, plastic products, seed oils (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 9.636 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 15.522 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 358.723 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 4.214 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 89% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 100%
Access electrification - rural areas: 75%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 95.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 3.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Consumption: 15,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 15,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 65,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 102,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 2.5 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 2.763 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 2.763 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 240.693 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 20.243 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 33,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 14.79 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 5.42 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 13.569 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 2.816 million (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 15.1 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 80 (2021 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 35% (2019 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1.62 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2023 est.)

Military expenditures: 6.5% of GDP (2019 est.); 6.7% of GDP (2018 est.); 6.8% of GDP (2017 est.); 6.9% of GDP (2016 est.); 7.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

Airports: 42 (2025)

Heliports: 13 (2025)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 24 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 8, oil tanker 1, other 13