##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Croatia (2003) - Syria (2002)
Compare Croatia (2003) z Syria (2002)
| Croatia (2003) | Syria (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija | 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: 18.3% (male 415,873; female 394,414)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,465,488; female 1,454,778) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 258,943; female 432,752) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 59 (2002) | 99 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
| Area | total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 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 West Virginia | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. | 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 | 12.76 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Zagreb | Damascus |
| Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | 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 | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 193 km |
| Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990 | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
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 | kuna (HRK) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Death rate | 11.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $16.5 billion (yearend 2002 est.) | $22 billion (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: Thomasa Jeffersona 2, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
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 Ivan GRDESIC
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
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 | discussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina on sections of the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Pljesevica; parliamentarians are far from ratifying the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia; in late 2002, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro adopted an interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka Peninsula, allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission (UNMOP), but discussions could be complicated by the inability of Serbia and Montenegro to come to an agreement on the economic aspects of the new federal union; Croatia and Italy continue to debate bilateral property and ethnic minority rights issues stemming from border changes after the Second World War | 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; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province |
| Economic aid - recipient | ODA $66 million (2000) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor, but massive structural unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions. Opponents fear reforms would cut jobs, wages, and social benefits. The government has a heavy backload of civil cases, many involving tenure land. The country is likely to experience only moderate growth without disciplined fiscal and structural reform. | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 14.27 billion kWh (2001) | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 386 million kWh (2001) | 650 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.386 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 12.12 billion kWh (2001) | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 33.6%
hydro: 66% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife | 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-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 4.1% (2001) | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 7.87 (2002), 8.34 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 7.11 (1999), 6.36 (1998) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Ante SIMONIC (since 30 July 2002), Zeljka ANTUNOVI (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS; a sixth party, the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), withdrew in June 2001 |
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), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) 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 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 (2001) | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) |
| Exports - partners | Italy 22.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.4%, Germany 12.5%, Slovenia 8%, Austria 7.3% (2002) | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | 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 - $43.12 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 33% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.2% (2002 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
| Heliports | 1 (2002) | 7 (2002) |
| Highways | total: 28,123 km
paved: 23,792 km (including 410 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,331 km (2000) |
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%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.3% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
| Imports - partners | Italy 16.8%, Germany 16.4%, Slovenia 7.8%, Russia 6.8%, Austria 6.7%, France 5.2% (2002) | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) |
| Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 6.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2002 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
| Labor force | 1.7 million (2001) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13.2% NA, industry 25.4% NA, services 46.4% NA (2002) | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and Montenegro (south) 25 km, Slovenia 670 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: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24% other: 74.21% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November Parliamentary elections; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - House of Counties was abolished in March 2001
elections: Assembly - last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Assembly (then referred to as the House of Representatives) - percent of vote by party - HDZ 43.4%, SDP 23%, HNS 7.4%, HSS 6.57%, HSP 6%; seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HNS 10, HSS 9, HSP 7; note - these are preliminary results |
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%, 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: 74.37 years
male: 70.76 years female: 78.2 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Europe | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 765,830 GRT/1,188,948 DWT
ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HV), Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $520 million (2002 est.) | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.39% (2002 est.) | 5.9% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,081,135 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 856,946 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 30,096 (2003 est.) | males: 200,859 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 1.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 1,374 km; oil 583 km (2003) | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Mate GRANIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Ivo BANAC]; Party of Liberal Democrats or LIBRA [Goran GRANIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election; the IDS subsequently left the governing coalition in June 2001 over its inability to win greater autonomy for Istria |
National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
| Population | 4,422,248 (July 2003 est.) | 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
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 (February 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 15%-25% |
| Population growth rate | 0.31% (2003 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 4.15 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 2,296 km
standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2002) |
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 (2001) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, others and unknown 6.2% (2001) | 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 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: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
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 | 1,721,139 (2000) | 1.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.3 million (2001) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 21.7% (2002 est.) | 20% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |
870 km (minimal economic importance) |
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