1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast
Coastline
193 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than North Dakota
Disputes
separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey; periodic disputes with Iraq over Euphrates water rights; ongoing dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR
Environment
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Land boundaries
2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use
arable land 28%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 46%; forest and woodland 3%; other 20%; includes irrigated 3%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 6 nm beyond territorial sea limit; Territorial sea: 35 nm
Natural resources
crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum
Note
there are 38 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Terrain
primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total area
185,180 km2; land area: 184,050 km2 (including 1,295 km2 of Israeli-occupied territory)
People and Society
Birth rate
43 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Arab 90.3%; Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Infant mortality rate
37 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
2,400,000; miscellaneous and government services 36%, agriculture 32%, industry and construction 32%; majority unskilled; shortage of skilled labor (1984)
Language
Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian; French widely understood
Life expectancy at birth
68 years male, 71 years female (1991)
Literacy
64% (male 78%, female 51%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Syrian(s); adjective--Syrian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
5% of labor force
Population
12,965,996 (July 1991), growth rate 3.8% (1991); in addition, there are at least 12,000 Druze and 13,000 Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (1990 est.)
Religion
Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, tiny Jewish communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo
Total fertility rate
6.7 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
14 provinces (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda, Dara, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
Capital
Damascus
Communists
mostly sympathizers, numbering about 5,000
Constitution
13 March 1973
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Walid MOUALEM; Chancery at 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-6313; US--Ambassador Edward P. DJEREJIAN; Embassy at Abu Rumaneh, Al Mansur Street No.2, Damascus (mailing address is P. O. Box 29, Damascus); telephone [963] (11) 333052 or 332557, 330416, 332814, 332315, 714108, 337178, 333232, 334352
Elections
President--last held 10-11 February 1985 (next to be held February 1992); results--President Hafiz al-ASAD was reelected without opposition; People's Council--last held 22-23 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results--Bath 53.6%, ASU 3.2%, SCP 3.2%, Arab Socialist Unionist Movement 2.8%, ASP 2%, Democratic Socialist Union Party 1.6%, independents 33.6%; seats--(250 total) Bath 134, ASU 8, SCP 8, Arab Socialist Unionist Movement 7, ASP 5, Democratic Socialist Union Party 4, independents 84; the People's Council was expanded to 250 seats total prior to the May 1990 election
Executive branch
president, three vice presidents, prime minister, three deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
Independence
17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration); formerly United Arab Republic
Judicial branch
Supreme Constitutional Court, High Judicial Council, Court of Cassation, State Security Courts
Leaders
Chief of State--President Hafiz al-ASAD (since 22 February 1971); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, Rifat al-ASAD, and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984); Head of Government--Prime Minister Mahmud ZUBI (since 1 November 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984); Deputy Prime Minister Salim YASIN (since NA December 1981); Deputy Prime Minister Mahmud QADDUR (since NA May 1985)
Legal system
based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral People's Council (Majlis al-Chaab)
Long-form name
Syrian Arab Republic
Member of
ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
National Day, 17 April (1946)
Other political or pressure groups
non-Bath parties have little effective political influence; Communist party ineffective; greatest threat to Asad regime lies in factionalism in the military; conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood
Political parties and leaders
ruling party is the Arab Socialist Resurrectionist (Bath) Party; the Progressive National Front is dominated by Bathists but includes independents and members of the Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP), Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Syrian Communist Party (SCP), Arab Socialist Unionist Movement, and Democratic Socialist Union Party
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic; under leftwing military regime since March 1963
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 27% of GDP and one-third of labor force; all major crops (wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas) grown mainly on rainfed land causing wide swings in production; animal products--beef, lamb, eggs, poultry, milk; not self-sufficient in grain or livestock products
Budget
revenues $4.8 billion; expenditures $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1990 est.)
Currency
Syrian pound (plural--pounds); 1 Syrian pound (5S) = 100 piasters
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $538 million; Western (non-US) ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.3 billion
Electricity
2,867,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced, 500 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Syrian pounds (5S) per US$1--11.2250 (fixed rate since 1987), 3.9250 (fixed rate 1976-87)
Exports
$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--petroleum 40%, textiles 30%, farm products 13%, phosphates (1989); partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 42%, EC 31%, Arab countries 17%, US/Canada 2% (1989)
External debt
$5.2 billion in hard currency (1990 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$20.0 billion, per capita $1,600; real growth rate 12% (1990 est.)
Imports
$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--foodstuffs and beverages 21%, metal and metal products 16%, machinery 14%, textiles, petroleum (1989); partners--EC 42%, USSR and Eastern Europe 13%, other Europe 13%, US/Canada 8%, Arab countries 6% (1989)
Industrial production
growth rate 17% (1990 est.); accounts for 19% of GDP
Industries
textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, petroleum
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
50% (1990 est.)
Overview
Syria's rigidly structured Bathist economy turned out slightly more goods in 1990 than in 1983, when the population was 20% smaller. Economic difficulties are attributable, in part, to severe drought in several recent years, costly but unsuccessful attempts to match Israel's military strength, a falloff in Arab aid, and insufficient foreign exchange earnings to buy needed inputs for industry and agriculture. Socialist policy, embodied in a thicket of bureaucratic regulations, in many instances has driven away or pushed underground the mercantile and entrepreneurial spirit for which Syrian businessmen have long been famous. Two bright spots: a sizable number of villagers have benefited from land redistribution, electrification, and other rural development programs; and a recent find of light crude oil has enabled Syria to cut oil imports. A long-term concern is the additional drain of upstream Euphrates water by Turkey when its vast dam and irrigation projects are completed toward the end of the 1990s. Output in 1990 rebounded from the very bad year of 1989, as agricultural production and oil revenues increased substantially.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
99 total, 96 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
35 major transport aircraft
Highways
27,000 km total; 21,000 km paved, 3,000 km gravel or crushed stone, 3,000 km improved earth
Inland waterways
672 km; of little economic importance
Merchant marine
22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,951 GRT/86,552 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 bulk
Pipelines
1,304 km crude oil; 515 km refined products
Ports
Tartus, Latakia, Baniyas
Railroads
2,241 km total; 1,930 km standard gauge, 311 km 1.050-meter narrow gauge; note--the Tartus-Latakia line is nearly complete
Telecommunications
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement; 512,600 telephones; stations--9 AM, 1 FM, 40 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station, with 1 Intersputnik station under construction; 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon (inactive)
Military and Security
Branches
Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force
Defense expenditures
$1.6 billion, 10.9% of GDP (1988 est.) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 2,825,214; 1,584,887 fit for military service; 149,105 reach military age (19) annually