Compare Chile (2005) - Syria (2004)

Compare Chile (2005) z Syria (2004)

	Chile (2005)	Syria (2004)

Administrative divisions	13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica	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: 25.2% (male 2,062,735/female 1,970,913) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 5,320,870/female 5,342,771) 65 years and over: 8% (male 534,737/female 748,886) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 38% (male 3,524,406; female 3,319,323) 15-64 years: 58.7% (male 5,421,133; female 5,163,669) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 281,795; female 306,548) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	364 (2004 est.)	93 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 71 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 15 (2004 est.)	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: 293 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 217 (2004 est.)	total: 66 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 756,950 sq km land: 748,800 sq km water: 8,150 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez	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 twice the size of Montana	slightly larger than North Dakota
Background	Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.	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. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate	15.44 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $21.53 billion expenditures: $19.95 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.33 billion (2004 est.)	revenues: $6.106 billion expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.)
Capital	Santiago	Damascus
Climate	temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south	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	6,435 km	193 km
Constitution	11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989, 1993, and 1997	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile	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	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$44.6 billion (2004 est.)	$21.55 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Craig A. KELLY embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago mailing address: APO AA 34033 telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600 FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710	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 Andres BIANCHI chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746 FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)	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	Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian gas and other commodities; Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims	Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; settled border dispute with Jordan in 2004
Economic aid - recipient	ODA, $0 (2002)	$199 million (1997 est.)
Economy - overview	Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.1% in 2001 and 2.1% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Chile's economy began a slow recovery in 2003, growing 3.2% and accelerated to 5.8% in 2004. GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment. Unemployment, however, remains stubbornly high. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004.	Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption	41.8 billion kWh (2002)	21.63 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	1.813 billion kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	48.6 billion kWh (2004)	23.26 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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	white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2%	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	Chilean pesos per US dollar - 609.37 (2004), 691.43 (2003), 688.94 (2002), 634.94 (2001), 539.59 (2000)	Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16 January 2000 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68%	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	0 bbl/day (2003)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals, wine	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	US 14%, Japan 11.4%, China 9.9%, South Korea 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1%, Brazil 4.3%, Italy 4.1%, Mexico 4% (2004)	Germany 20.9%, Italy 12.6%, UAE 7.6%, Lebanon 6.2%, Turkey 6%, France 5.4%, Croatia 4.8%, US 4.1% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence; design was influenced by the US flag	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	-	purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 6.3% industry: 38.2% services: 55.5% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 28.5% industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.8% (2004 est.)	0.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	30 00 S, 71 00 W	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports	-	7 (2003 est.)
Highways	total: 79,605 km paved: 16,080 km (including 407 km of expressways) unpaved: 63,525 km (2001)	total: 43,381 km paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 47% (2000)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	important transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the US; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone, but a new anti-money-laundering law improves controls; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising	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	221,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, electrical and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles, natural gas	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	Argentina 17%, US 14%, Brazil 11.2%, China 7.4% (2004)	Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003)
Independence	18 September 1810 (from Spain)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	7.8% (2004 est.)	NA
Industries	copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	total: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 30.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2004 est.)	1.5% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	APEC, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, 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	18,000 sq km (1998 est.)	12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is elected by the 21-member court); Constitutional Tribunal	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	6.2 million (2004 est.)	4.97 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 13.6%, industry 23.4%, services 63% (2003)	agriculture, industry, services NA
Land boundaries	total: 6,171 km border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 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: 2.65% permanent crops: 0.42% other: 96.93% (2001)	arable land: 25.22% permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages	Spanish	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country with the final stage of implementation in the Santiago metropolitan region expected in June 2005	based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (48 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated members, and 1 former president who has served a full six-year term and is senator for life); elected members serve eight-year terms (one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI 35, RN 22, independent 1	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: 76.58 years male: 73.3 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)	total population: 69.71 years male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.4% female: 96.1% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	South America	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
Merchant marine	total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 725,216 GRT/954,519 DWT by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 1, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 4 registered in other countries: 21 (2005)	total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT by type: bulk 12, cargo 101, container 2, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Lebanon 10, Romania 1 registered in other countries: 83 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes naval air, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps), Chilean Air Force, Chilean Carabineros (National Police)	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$3.42 billion (2004)	$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.8% (2004)	5.9% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 4,876,040 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 216,077 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 18 September (1810)	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,583 km; gas/lpg 42 km; liquid petroleum gas 539 km; oil 1,003 km; refined products 757 km (2004)	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC (including National Renewal or RN [Sebastian PINERA] and Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR], Socialist Party or PS [Gonzalo MARTNER], Party for Democracy or PPD [Victor BARRUETO], Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS]); Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN]	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 Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders	revitalized university student federations at all major universities; Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations	conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [lader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM]
Population	15,980,912 (July 2005 est.)	18,016,874 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 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	20.6% (2000)	20% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	0.97% (2005 est.)	2.4% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Antofagasta, Arica, Huasco, Iquique, Lirquen, San Antonio, San Vicente, Valparaiso	Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations	AM 180 (eight inactive), FM 64, shortwave 17 (one inactive) (1998)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 6,585 km broad gauge: 2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish NEGL%	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 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations international: country code - 56; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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	3.467 million (2002)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	6,445,700 (2002)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	63 (plus 121 repeaters) (1997)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	2.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	8.5% (2004 est.)	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	-	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

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