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Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total area: 185,180 sq km
land area: 184,050 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Land boundaries: total 2,253 km, Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Coastline: 193 km
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 hits Damascus
Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum
Land use:
arable land: 28%
permanent crops: 3%
meadows and pastures: 46%
forest and woodland: 3%
other: 20%
Irrigated land: 10,000 sq km (1992)
Population: 15,451,917 (July 1995 est.)
note: in addition, there are 31,000 people living in the Israeli-occupied
GolanHeights - 16,500 Arabs (15,000 Druze and 1,500 Alawites) and 14,500
Jewish settlers (August 1994 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (female 3,639,776; male 3,826,154)
15-64 years: 49% (female 3,691,862; male 3,854,989)
65 years and over: 3% (female 219,251; male 219,885) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.71% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.21 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 41.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.81 years
male: 65.67 years
female: 68.01 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian
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.)
total population: 64%
male: 78%
female: 51%
Labor force: 4.3 million (1994 est.)
by occupation: miscellaneous and government services 36%, agriculture 32%, industry
and construction 32%; note - shortage of skilled labor (1984)
Names:
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)
Digraph: SY
Type: republic under leftwing 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
Overview: In 1990-93 Syria's state-dominated Ba'thist economy benefited from the Gulf war, increased oil production, good weather, and economic deregulation. Economic growth averaged roughly 10%. The Gulf war provided Syria an aid windfall of nearly $5 billion dollars from Arab, European, and Japanese donors. However, the benefits of the 1990-93 boom were not evenly distributed and the gap between rich and poor is widening. A nationwide financial scandal and increasing inflation were accompanied by a decline in GDP growth to 4% in 1994. For the long run, Syria's economy is still saddled with a large number of poorly performing public sector firms, and industrial productivity remains to be improved. Oil production is likely to fall off dramatically by the end of the decade. Unemployment will become a problem for the government when the more than 60% of the population under the age of 20 enter the labor force.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $74.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,000 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.3% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1993 est.)
Budget: NA
Exports: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: petroleum 53%, textiles 22%, cotton, fruits and vegetables, wheat,
barley, chickens
partners: EC 48%, former CEMA countries 24%, Arab countries 18% (1991)
Imports: $4 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs 21%, metal products 17%, machinery 15%
partners: EC 37%, former CEMA countries 15%, US and Canada 10% (1991)
External debt: $19.4 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 4,160,000 kW
production: 13.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 865 kWh (1993)
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP and one-third of labor force; all major crops (wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas) grown mainly on rain-watered land causing wide swings in production; animal products - beef, lamb, eggs, poultry, milk; not self-sufficient in grain or livestock products
Currency: 1 Syrian pound (#S) = 100 piastres
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads:
total: 1,998 km
broad gauge: 1,766 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 232 km 1.050-m gauge
Highways:
total: 31,569 km
paved: 24,308 km (including 670 km of expressways)
unpaved: 7,261 km
Inland waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance
Pipelines: crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km
Ports: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Merchant marine:
total: 80 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 233,701 GRT/364,714 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 68, vehicle carrier 2
Airports:
total: 107
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 67
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 15