SYRIA
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SYRIA
@Syria:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Lebanon and Turkey
Map references: Middle East
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SYRIA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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DAMASCUS 1,292,000 33.30N, 36.19E 963- GMT+2
Aleppo 1,216,000 36.14N, 37.10E 963- GMT+2
Homs 431,000 34.44N, 36.43E 963- GMT+2
Latakia 241,000 35.31N, 35.47E 963- GMT+2
Hama 214,000 35.05N, 36.40E 963- GMT+2
Dayr az-Zawr 92,000 35.20N, 40.05E 963- GMT+2
Raqqa 87,000 35.57N, 39.03E 963- GMT+2
Hasakeh 73,000 36.32N, 40.44E 963- GMT+2
Tartus 53,000 34.55N, 35.52E 963- GMT+2
Idlib 52,000 35.56N, 36.38E 963- GMT+2
Dar'a 50,000 32.37N, 36.06E 963- GMT+2
Abu-Kamal N/A 34.27N, 40.55E 963- GMT+2
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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
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 41 nm
territorial sea: 35 nm
International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice
Line; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey;
ongoing dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October
1976
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)
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
natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms
international agreements: party to - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified
- Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification
Note: there are 42 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1994 est.)
@Syria:People
Population: 15,451,917 (July 1995 est.)
note: in addition, there are 31,000 people living in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 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)
@Syria:Government
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
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Hafiz al-ASAD (since 22 February 1971 see
note); Vice Presidents 'Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM, Rif'at al-ASAD,
and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984); election last
held 2 December 1991 (next to be held NA December 1998); results -
President Hafiz al-ASAD was reelected for a fourth seven-year term
with 99.98% of the vote; note - President ASAD seized power in the
November 1970 coup, assumed presidential powers 22 February 1971, and
was confirmed as president in the 12 March 1971 national elections
head of government: Prime Minister Mahmud ZU'BI (since 1 November
1987); Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March
1984); Deputy Prime Minister Salim YASIN (since NA December 1981);
Deputy Prime Minister Rashid AKHTARINI (since 4 July 1992)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
People's Council (Majlis al-Chaab): elections last held 24-25 August
1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (250 total) National Progressive Front 167, independents 83
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, High Judicial Council,
Court of Cassation, State Security Courts
Political parties and leaders:
National Progressive Front includes: the ruling Arab Socialist
Resurrectionist (Ba'th) Party, Hafiz al-ASAD, President of the
Republic, Secretary General of the party, and Chairman of the National
Progressive Front; Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP), 'Abd al-Ghani
KANNUT; Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Jamal ATASSI; Syrian Communist
Party (SCP), Khalid BAKDASH; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement, Sami
SOUFAN; and Democratic Socialist Union Party, leader NA
Other political or pressure groups: non-Ba'th parties have little
effective political influence; Communist party ineffective;
conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood
Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Walid MUALEM
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313
FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street No. 2, Damascus
mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus
telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814, 714-108, 333-3788
FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938
Flag: 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 symbolic eagle centered in
the white band
Economy
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
Illicit drugs: a transit country for Lebanese and Turkish refined
cocaine going to Europe and heroin and hashish bound for regional and
Western markets
Economic aid:
recipient: no US aid; about $4.2 billion in loans and grants from Arab
and Western donors 1990-92 as a result of Gulf war stance
Currency: 1 Syrian pound (#S) = 100 piastres
Exchange rates: Syrian pounds (#S) per US$1 - 11.2 (official fixed
rate), 26.6 (blended rate used by the UN and diplomatic missions),
42.0 (neighboring country rate - applies to most state enterprise
imports), 46.0 - 53.0 (offshore rate) (yearend 1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Syria:Transportation
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
@Syria:Communications
Telephone system: 512,600 telephones; 37 telephones/1,000 persons;
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital
upgrades, including fiber optic technology
local: NA
intercity: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network
international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik earth
station; 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 17
televisions: NA
@Syria:Defense Forces
Branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force,
Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,440,030; males fit for
military service 1,927,930; males reach military age (19) annually
159,942 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.2 billion, 6% of
GDP (1992)
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