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Syria
Background: Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. Talks with Israel over the return of the Golan Heights have recently been revived.
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 38 00 E Map references: Middle East Area:
Area - comparative: slightly larger than North Dakota Land boundaries:
Coastline: 193 km Maritime claims:
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 hitting Damascus Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower Land use:
Irrigated land: 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms Environment - current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note: there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.)
Population:
16,305,659
Age structure:
Population growth rate: 2.58% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 31.11 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 5.29 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 34.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 4.06 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: SY Government type: republic under military regime since March 1963 Capital: Damascus Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) National holiday: National Day, 17 April (1946) Constitution: 13 March 1973 Legal system: based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch:
Legislative branch:
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president; High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Front (NPF) (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Hafiz al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Hafiz al-ASAD, president of the republic, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Fayiz ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Ghassan 'Abd-al-Aziz UTHMAN]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] Political pressure groups and leaders: Communist party ineffective; conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band
Economy - overview: Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. GDP: purchasing power parity - $42.2 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 0% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: 15%-25% Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1999 est.) Labor force: 4.7 million (1998 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) Unemployment rate: 12%-15% (1998 est.) Budget:
Industries: petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining Industrial production growth rate: 0.2% (1996 est.) Electricity - production: 17.5 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 16.275 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk Exports: $3.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) Exports - commodities: petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) Exports - partners: Germany 14%, Turkey 13%, Italy 12%, France 9%, Lebanon 9%, Spain (1998 est.) Imports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) Imports - partners: Ukraine 16%, Italy 6%, Germany 6%, Turkey 5%, France 4%, South Korea, Japan, US (1998 est.) Debt - external: $22 billion (1999 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $199 million (1997 est.) Currency: 1 Syrian pound = 100 piastres Exchange rates: Syrian pounds per US$1 - 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997); official fixed rate - 11.225 Syrian pounds per US$1 Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use: 930,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: NA Telephone system:
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) Radios: 4.15 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 54 (of which 36 are low-power and repeater stations) (1997) Televisions: 1.05 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance Pipelines: crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km Ports and harbors: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus Merchant marine:
Airports: 104 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Heliports: 2 (1999 est.)
Military branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $800 million-$1 billion (FY97 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 5.9% (FY98)
Disputes - international: Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976 Illicit drugs: a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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