Country Facts - Syria

The People

Nationality

Syrian(s)

Ethnic Composition

Arabs	90.3%
Kurds, Armenians, Turkomans, Circassians, Assyrians, and Jews	9.7%

Religious Composition

Sunni Muslims	74%
Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects	16%
Christians	10%
Jewish	3%

Languages Spoken

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

Education and Literacy

The literacy rate in Syria is 70.8 percent; by gender the literacy rate among males is 85.7, and among famales it is 55.8 percent. Education is compulsory for six years.

Labor Force

Total: 4.7 million

By occupation:

Services	40%
Agriculture	40%
Industry	20%

Geography

Land Mass Total

71,498sq mi (185,180 sq km)
Note: Includes 500 sq mi (1,295 sq km) of Israeli-occupied territory

Land

71,062 sq mi (184,050 sq km)

Water

436 sq mi (1,130 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 1,399 mi (2,253 km)

Border countries: Iraq 375 mi (605 km), Israel 47 mi (76 km), Jordan 233 mi (375 km), Lebanon 233 mi (375 km), Turkey 510 mi (822 km)

Coastline

119 mi (193 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 41 nm
Territorial sea: 35 nm

Climate/Weather

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: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias 656 ft (200 m)
Highest: Mount Hermon 9,232 ft (2,814 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower

Land use

Arable land	26%
Permanent crops	4%
Other	70%

(1998)

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

Geography Note

There are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2001).

Demographics

Population

17,155,814 (July 2002)
Note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (August 2001)

Age structure

0-14 years:	39.3%	Male: 3,467,267	Female: 3,264,639
15-64 years:	57.5%	Male: 5,052,841	Female: 4,817,662
65 years and over:	3.2%	Male: 267,803	Female: 285,602

(2002))

Growth Rate

2.5% (2002)

Life Expectancy

69.08 years (2002)
Female: 70.32 years
Male: 67.9 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US $3,200 (2001)

Infant Mortality

32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

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:	0.94 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.05 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5 percent annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar Al-Asad has made little progress on the economic front, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Asad's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. High oil prices in 2002 were the main cause of the 3.35 percent GDP growth rate, but prospects for 2003 are greatly dependent on the outcome of the Iraqi conflict. Asad is also planning to add 34,000 civil service jobs in 2003 to guarantee votes in upcoming elections.

Unemployment

20% (2000)

Inflation Rate

0.3% (2001)

Industries

Petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining

Exports

US$5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$4 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$54.2 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, U.S. 4% (2000)

Top Exports

Crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998)

Top Imports

Machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000)

Debt - external

US$22 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$199 million (1997)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Friday
Offices	9:30a.m. to 2p.m., and 4:30p.m. to 9p.m. Summer: 9:30a.m. to 2p.m., and 4p.m. to 8p.m.	Closed
Retail	10a.m. to 8p.m.	Closed
Banks	8a.m. to 2p.m.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Unity Day	February 22	February 22	February 22
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Revolution Day	March 8	March 8	March 8
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Arab League Day	March 22	March 22	March 22
National Independence Day	April 17	April 17	April 17
Martyr's Day	May 6	May 6	May 6
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)³	May 14	May 2	April 21
Start of Ramadan*¹	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*²	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day*³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*¹	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*²	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
*³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press