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GeographyLocation: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Area: Land boundaries: total 2,253 km, Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375km, Turkey 822 km Coastline: 193 km
PeoplePopulation: 15,451,917 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
Population growth rate: 3.71% (1995 est.) Birth rate: 43.21 births/1,000 population Death rate: 6.07 deaths/1,000 population Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population Infant mortality rate: 41.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman Ethnic divisions: 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, French widely understood
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Government
Names:
Type: republic under leftwing military regime since March 1963 Capital: Damascus Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) Constitution: 13 March 1973
EconomyNational product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $74.4 billion National product real growth rate: 4% National product per capita: $5,000 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.3% Unemployment rate: 7.5%
Electricity:
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| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |