Compare Bahrain (2006) - Syria (2005)

Compare Bahrain (2006) z Syria (2005)

	Bahrain (2006)	Syria (2005)

Administrative divisions	5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor	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: 27.4% (male 96,567/female 94,650) 15-64 years: 69.1% (male 280,272/female 202,451) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 12,753/female 11,892) (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	fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	3 (2006)	92 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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: 66 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 665 sq km land: 665 sq km water: 0 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	3.5 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than North Dakota
Background	In 1782, the Al Khalifa family captured Bahrain from the Persians. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. Sheikh HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa, who came to power in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shia community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of Sheikh HAMAD's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Sheikh HAMAD pronounced Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and changed his status from amir to king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly.	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	17.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $4.662 billion expenditures: $3.447 billion; including capital expenditures of $700 million (2005 est.)	revenues: $6.58 billion expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Manama geographic coordinates: 26 13 N, 50 35 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Damascus
Climate	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers	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	161 km	193 km
Constitution	new constitution 14 February 2002	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun	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	4.14 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$6.814 billion (2005 est.)	$4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1727-0547	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 Nasir bin Muhammad al-BALUSHI chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: 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	none	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 - recipient	$150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE and Kuwait (2002)	$180 million (2002 est.)
Economy - overview	Petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of Bahrain's export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In 2005 Bahrain and the US ratified a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state.	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	6.83 billion kWh (2003)	24.32 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	7.345 billion kWh (2003)	26.15 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands 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	Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (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: King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969) head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa (since 1971); Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, Jawad al-ARAIDH cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch	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	NA bbl/day	285,000 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	Saudi Arabia 3.3%, US 2.6%, UAE 2.3% (2005)	Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam	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: 0.5% industry: 38.7% services: 60.8% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 25% industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.9% (2005 est.)	2.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	26 00 N, 50 33 E	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean	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%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	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	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	crude oil, machinery, chemicals	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	Saudi Arabia 36.4%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 6.4%, US 5.4%, UK 5%, UAE 4.1% (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	15 August 1971 (from UK)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2000 est.)	7% (2002 est.)
Industries	petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing, tourism	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	total: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.87 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)	2.7% (2005 est.)	2.1% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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	High Civil Appeals Court	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	380,000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2005 est.)	5.12 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 1% industry: 79% services: 20% (1997 est.)	agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 est.)
Land boundaries	0 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: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005)	arable land: 25.22% permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages	Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	based on Islamic law and English common law	based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held in September 2006) election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Sunni Islamists 12, Shia grouping 7, other groupings and independents 21 note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002	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: 74.45 years male: 71.97 years female: 77 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: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	Middle East	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
Merchant marine	total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 235,449 GRT/339,728 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 3) (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	Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$627.7 million (2005 est.)	$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.9% (2005 est.)	5.9% (FY00)
National holiday	National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts; dust storms	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	0.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2006)	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law	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	Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in protests and marches, demanding that more power be vested in the elected Council of Representatives and that the government do more to decrease unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active	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	698,585 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (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	NA%	20% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	1.45% (2006 est.)	2.34% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Baniyas, Latakia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.38 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female total population: 1.26 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: modern system domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 1 (1997)	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	196,500 (2005)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	748,700 (2005)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	4 (1997)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	2.6 children born/woman (2006 est.)	3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (2005 est.)	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	-	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

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