|
| 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. In recent years, Syria and
Israel have held occasional peace talks
over the return of the Golan Heights. |
| Location: |
Middle
East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
35
00 N, 38 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Middle
East |
| Area: |
total:
185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km
water: 1,130 sq km
note: includes 1,295 sq km of
Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly
larger than North Dakota |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605
km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon
375 km, Turkey 822 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 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 hitting
Damascus |
| Terrain: |
primarily
semiarid and desert plateau; narrow
coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest
point: unnamed location near
Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon
2,814 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum,
phosphates, chrome and manganese ores,
asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble,
gypsum, hydropower |
| Land
use: |
arable
land: 28%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 22% (1993 est.) |
| 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: |
party
to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification |
| Geography
- note: |
there
are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian
land use sites in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) |
| Population: |
16,728,808
note: in addition, there are
about 38,200 people living in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,200
Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,700 Alawites)
and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 39.92% (male 3,440,060;
female 3,238,576)
15-64 years: 56.87% (male
4,868,816; female 4,644,870)
65 years and over: 3.21%
(male 261,036; female 275,450) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.54%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
30.64
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.21
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95
male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
33.8
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 68.77 years
male: 67.63 years
female: 69.98 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.95
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.01%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| 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: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8%
male: 85.7%
female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
| 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) |
| Government
type: |
republic
under military regime since March 1963 |
| 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: |
Independence
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: |
chief
of state: President Bashar al-ASAD
(since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd
al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March
1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since
11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime
Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13
March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt.
Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984),
Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000),
Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
appointed by the president
elections: president elected
by popular vote for a seven-year term;
referendum/election last held 10 July 2000
- after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD,
father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be
held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed
by the president; prime minister and
deputy prime ministers appointed by the
president
election results: Bashar al-ASAD
elected president; percent of vote -
Bashar al-ASAD 97.29%
note: Hafiz al-ASAD died 10
June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party
nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and
presented his name to the People's Council
25 June 2000 |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250
seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30
November-1 December 1998 (next to be held
NA 2002)
election results: percent of
vote by party - NPF 67%, non-NPF 33%;
seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83;
note - the constitution guarantees that
the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance)
receive one-half of the seats |
| 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 or NPF (includes the
Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party,
Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP,
SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab
Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party
(governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD,
secretary general of the party, and
chairman of the National Progressive Front
after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10
June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist
Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab
Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT];
Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad
al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or
ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist
Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
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: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Rustum
al-ZU'BI
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313
FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Theodore
H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur
Street, No. 2, Damascus
mailing address: P. O. Box
29, Damascus
telephone: [963] (11)
333-1342
FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
| 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. The government
recognizes the need to open the economy to
additional domestic and foreign
investment. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3.5%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
29%
industry: 22%
services: 49% (1997) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
15%-25% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
1.5%
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
4.7
million (1998 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture
40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
20%
(2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$2.25 billion
expenditures: $5.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum,
textiles, food processing, beverages,
tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
17.94
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 57.64%
hydro: 42.36%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
16.684
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat,
barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas,
olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs,
poultry, milk |
| Exports: |
$4.8
billion (f.o.b., 2000 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
21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia
9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) |
| Imports: |
$3.5
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery
and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%,
metal and metal products 15%, textiles
10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) |
| Imports
- partners: |
France
11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%,
China 4% (1999 est.) |
| Debt
- external: |
$22
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$199
million (1997 est.) |
| Currency: |
Syrian
pound (SYP) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Syrian
pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46
(1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar
year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
1.313
million (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: fair system
currently undergoing significant
improvement and digital upgrades,
including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and
microwave radio relay network
international: satellite
earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean
region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable
and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan,
Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in
Medarabtel |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios: |
4.15
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
44
(plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Televisions: |
1.05
million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.sy |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
20,000
(2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
2,750 km
standard gauge: 2,423 km
1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m
gauge
note: rail link between Syria
and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001) |
| Highways: |
total:
41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including
877 km of expressways)
unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
| 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: |
total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo
117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off
1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
100
(2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
24
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
| 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 |
|
