Syrian Arab Republic

National name: Al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah as-Suriyah

President: Bashar al-Assad (2000)

Prime Minister: Muhammad Naji al-Otari (2003)

Land area: 71,062 sq mi (184,051 sq km); total area: 71,498 sq mi (sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 18,881,361 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 27.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 28.6/1000; life expectancy: 70.3; density per sq mi: 266

Capital (2003 est.): Damascus, 2,381,800 (metro. area), 1,861,900

Largest cities: Aleppo, 2,492,100 (metro. area), 1,933,700 (city proper); Homs, 751,500; Latakia, 417,100; Hama, 380,200

Monetary unit: Syrian pound

Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood

Ethnicity/race: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%

Religions: Islam (Sunni) 74%; Alawite, Druze, and other Islamic sects 16%; Christian (various sects) 10%; Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

Literacy rate: 77% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $63.31 billion; per capita $3,400. Real growth rate: 4.5%. Inflation: 2.6%. Unemployment: 12.3% (2004 est.). Arable land: 25%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk. Labor force: 5.12 million (2004 est.); agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 est.). Industries: petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining. Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower. Exports: $6.344 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat. Imports: $5.973 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper. Major trading partners: Italy, France, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, Russia, U.S., South Korea (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.313 million (1997); mobile cellular: n.a. 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 Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000). Internet users: 60,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 2,743 km (2002). Highways: total: 43,381 km; paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways); unpaved: 33,360 km (1999). Waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance. Ports and harbors: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus. Airports: 92 (2002).

International disputes: Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province.

 

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