| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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) |
| Capital: |
Damascus |
| Location: |
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| 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 |
| Coastline: |
193 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 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 in Damascus |
| Terrain: |
primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Elavation
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 |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic under military regime since March 1963 |
| Administratives
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 Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003)
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 Hafiz al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held 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 on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 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 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives 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: |
Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
18,448,752
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 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 20.37 years
male: 20.24 years
female: 20.51 years (2005 est.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
2,099,300 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
400,000 (2002) |
| 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: country code - 963; 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) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Internet country
code: |
.sy |
| Internet hosts: |
11 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
220,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 45,697 km
paved: 6,489 km (including 1,001 km of expressways)
unpaved: 39,208 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
900 km (not economically significant) (2002) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 120 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 105, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 12 (Egypt 1, Greece 1, Jordan 2, Lebanon 7, Romania 1)
registered in other countries: 73 (2005) |
| Airports: |
92 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 66
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
7 (2004 est.) |
