Syria

Map Syria

Flag of Syria

Facts

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
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 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.)
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)
Currency code: SYP
Exchange rates: Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year