| Country (long form) |
Syrian Arab Republic |
| Capital |
Damascus |
| Total Area |
71,498 sq mi
185,180.00 sq km
(slightly larger than North Dakota) |
| Population |
16,728,808 (July 2001 est.)
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 |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
34,437,235 |
| Languages |
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Literacy |
70.8% total, 85.7% male, 55.8% female (1997 est.) |
| Religions |
Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
| Life Expectancy |
67.63 male, 69.98 female (2001 est.) |
| Government Type |
republic under military regime since March 1963 |
| Currency |
1 Syrian pound = 100 piastres |
| GDP (per capita) |
$3,100 (2000 est.) |
| Industry |
petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Agriculture |
wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Arable Land |
28% |
| Natural Resources |
petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
|
|
