Compare Austria (2006) - Syria (2005)

Compare Austria (2006) z Syria (2005)

	Austria (2006)	Syria (2005)

Administrative divisions	9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)	14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
Age structure	0-14 years: 15.4% (male 645,337/female 614,602) 15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,782,712/female 2,749,620) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 567,752/female 832,857) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267) 15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	55 (2006)	92 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 25 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 15 (2006)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2006)	total: 66 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 83,870 sq km land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km	total: 185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maine	slightly larger than North Dakota
Background	Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.	Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate	8.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $148.6 billion expenditures: $154.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $6.58 billion expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Vienna geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	Damascus
Climate	temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers	mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	193 km
Constitution	1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Austria conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich	conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Death rate	9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$510.6 billion (30 June 2005 est.)	$4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682	chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret SCOBEY embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
Disputes - international	Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic	Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personel stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $681 million (2004)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$180 million (2002 est.)
Economy - overview	Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The current government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government, creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location, pursuing a balanced budget, and implementing effective pension reforms. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe have held the economy to growth rates of 0.4% in 2002, 1.4% in 2003, 2.4% in 2004, and 1.8% in 2005. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population.	Real GDP growth rose to 2.3 percent in 2004, a slight increase from 2003 when the predominantly statist economy suffered from disruptions caused by the war in Iraq and other developments in the region. Annual real GDP growth has averaged 2.3 percent for the last seven years. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the last few years, including cutting interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports and pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption	64.78 billion kWh (2004)	24.32 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	13.53 billion kWh (2004)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	16.63 billion kWh (2004)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	63.69 billion kWh (2004)	26.15 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)	Syrian pounds per US dollar - (official rate): 11.225 (2004), 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), (parallel market rate in Amman and Beirut) NA (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002), 50.4 (2002), 49.4 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004) head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe	chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafiz al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000
Exports	30,140 bbl/day (2004)	285,000 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	Germany 31.2%, Italy 8.7%, US 5.8%, Switzerland 5.2%, France 4.2% (2005)	Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 30.4% services: 67.8% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 25% industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.8% (2005 est.)	2.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	47 20 N, 13 20 E	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports	1 (2006)	7 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 45,697 km paved: 6,489 km (including 1,001 km of expressways) unpaved: 39,208 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.3% highest 10%: 22.5% (2004)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe	a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering
Imports	152,600 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	Germany 45.9%, Italy 6.6%, Switzerland 4.5% (2005)	Turkey 9.4%, Ukraine 8.7%, China 7.8%, Russia 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2004)
Independence	17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	4.7% (2005 est.)	7% (2002 est.)
Industries	construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.3% (2005 est.)	2.1% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT (observer), AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land	40 sq km (2003)	12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	3.49 million (2005 est.)	5.12 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 3% industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 est.)	agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,562 km border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km	total: 2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use	arable land: 16.59% permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005)	arable land: 25.22% permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages	German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least 3 representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: National Council - last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7	unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 79.07 years male: 76.17 years female: 82.11 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.03 years male: 68.75 years female: 71.38 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	Europe	Middle East
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
Merchant marine	total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,072 GRT/44,437 DWT by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 14 (Liberia 13, Malta 1) (2006)	total: 120 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 105, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Egypt 1, Greece 1, Jordan 2, Lebanon 7, Romania 1) registered in other countries: 73 (2005)
Military branches	Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.497 billion (FY01/02)	$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.9% (2004)	5.9% (FY00)
National holiday	National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Austrian(s) adjective: Austrian	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	landslides; avalanches; earthquakes	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006)	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]	Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights	conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [leader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM]
Population	8,192,880 (July 2006 est.)	18,448,752 note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	5.9% (2004)	20% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	0.09% (2006 est.)	2.34% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Baniyas, Latakia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 6,011 km standard gauge: 5,568 km 1.435-m gauge (3,427 km electrified) narrow gauge: 21 km 1.000-m gauge; 422 km 0.760-m gauge (109 km electrified) (2005)	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)	Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed and efficient domestic: there are 45 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2005)	general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
Telephones - main lines in use	3.705 million (2005)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8.16 million (2005)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	1.36 children born/woman (2006 est.)	3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.2% (2005 est.)	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	358 km (2003)	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

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