Burundi (2007) | Syria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 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: 46.3% (male 1,951,879/female 1,930,371)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 2,131,759/female 2,162,093) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 85,522/female 128,881) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 8 (2007) | 100 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total:
76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 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 Maryland | slightly larger than North Dakota |
Background | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges. | 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. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
Birth rate | 41.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 30.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $214.1 million
expenditures: $306.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$2.25 billion expenditures: $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 22 S, 29 21 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Damascus |
Climate | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January) | 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 hitting Damascus |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 193 km |
Constitution | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
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) |
Currency | - | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Death rate | 13.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2003) | $22 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
Disputes - international | conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces have abated somewhat in the Great Lakes region; UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) completed its mandate in December 2006 after a three-year peace-keeping mission | Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976 |
Economic aid - recipient | $365 million (2005) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. Burundi grew about 5 percent in 2006. Delayed disbursements of funds from the World Bank may add to budget pressures in 2007. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. | Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. The government recognizes the need to open the economy to additional domestic and foreign investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 161.4 million kWh (2005) | 16.684 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 34 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 137 million kWh (2005) | 17.94 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
57.64% hydro: 42.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point:
unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature |
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 Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) 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 Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 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 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 33.7%, UK 12.2%, Pakistan 8.5%, Rwanda 5.3%, Egypt 4.2% (2006) | Germany 21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) | 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 heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 44.9%
industry: 20.9% services: 34.1% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
29% industry: 22% services: 49% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2006 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
41,451 km paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 32.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 12.6%, Kenya 8.2%, Japan 7.8%, Russia 4.7%, UK 4.6%, France 4.4%, China 4.4% (2006) | France 11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, China 4% (1999 est.) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2001) | NA% |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
33.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 210 sq km (2003) | 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 2.99 million (2002) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 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: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
arable land:
28% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 3% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats, 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 51.29 years
male: 50.48 years female: 52.12 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
68.77 years male: 67.63 years female: 69.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.3% male: 67.3% female: 52.2% (2000 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing) (2006) | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (2006 est.) | 5.9% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,384,528 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,448,630 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
200,859 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun:
Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 7.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
Political parties and leaders | governing parties: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Jeremie NGENDAKUMANA]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
Population | 8,390,505
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
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.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2002 est.) | 15%-25% |
Population growth rate | 3.593% (2007 est.) | 2.54% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.15 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,750 km standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2000) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | 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: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.664 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal (adult) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: primitive system; telephone density one of the lowest in the world; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing but remains at a meager 2 per 100 persons
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment:
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: 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 | 31,100 (2005) | 1.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 153,000 (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 6.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 20% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2005) | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |