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
Statistics: CIA World Factbook.
Press
(Organ of the Arab Socialist Party), Damascus
http://www.albaath.com/
Al-Fida'
(Government-controlled weekly), Hama
Al-Jamahir
(Government-controlled), Halab
(Government-controlled), Damascus
http://www.thawra.com
(Government-owned, English-language), Damascus
http://www.teshreen.com/syriatimes
(Newsletter Magazine), Damascus
http://www.syria-today.com/
(Semi-official), Damascus
http://www.teshreen.com/
Syria in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 24 items.
The Syrian government does not allow the estimated 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria to work legally and an increasing number of refugees have taken up
Syria remains a key player in any serious attempts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
It is not uncommon to pick up a newspaper and read a headline regarding the Middle East. It doesn’t matter if you are in Algiers or Amman; the Middle East is certainly changing.
With the Guardian Council of Mullahs and an ultra-conservative president in control of Iran, the resumption of economic and political relations with the United States is less favorable than some would have expected.
Americas 
