1984 Edition

Branches

Army, Air Force

executive powers vested in President and Council of Ministers; power rests in unicameral legislative (People's Council); seat of power is the Ba'th Party Regional (Syrian) Command

Capital

Damascus

Coastline

193 km People

Communists

mostly sympathizers, numbering about 5,000

Elections

People's Council election November 1981; presidential election February Political parties and leaders: ruling party is the Arab Socialist Resurrectionist (Ba'th) Party; the progressive "national front" cabinet is dominated by Ba'thists but includes independents and members of the Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP), Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Socialist Unionist Movement, and Syrian Communist Party (SCP)

Ethnic divisions

90.3% Arab; 9.7% Kurds, Armenians, and other

Government leader

Lt. Gen. Hafiz alASSAD, President

Labor force

2.2 million; 39% miscellaneous services, 32% agriculture, 29% industry (including construction); majority unskilled; shortage of skilled labor

Land boundaries

2,196 km (1967) (excluding occupied area 2,156 km) Water

Language

Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic; French and English widely understood

Legal system

based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; constitution promulgated in 1973; legal education at Damascus University and University of Aleppo; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

35 nm

Literacy

about 50%

Military budget

proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 198-3, $1,897 million; 20.0% of proposed central government budget Land 186,480 km2 (including 1,295 km2 of Israelioccupied territory); 48% arable, 29% grazing, 21% desert, 2% forest

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,691,000; 1,461,000 fit for military service; 50,000 reach military age (20) annually

National holiday

Independence Day, 17 April

Nationality

noun — Syrian(s); adjective — Syrian

Official name

Syrian Arab Republic

Organized labor

5% of labor force Government

Other political or pressure groups

nonBa'th parties have little effective political influence; Communist Party ineffective;

Political subdivisions

13 provinces and city of Damascus administered as separate unit

Population

10,075,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.4%

Religion

74% Sunni Muslim; 16% Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects; 10% Christian (various sects)

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

republic; under leftwing military regime since March 1963