Grenada (2004) | Syria (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 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: 34.5% (male 15,580; female 15,212)
15-64 years: 62% (male 29,321; female 26,104) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 1,467; female 1,673) (2004 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 | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 99 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 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 | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than North Dakota |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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 | 22.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Damascus |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | 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 | 121 km | 193 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
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 | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Death rate | 7.31 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) | $22 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: 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 | none | 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 | $8.3 million (1995) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. | 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 | 128.3 million kWh (2001) | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 650 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 138 million kWh (2001) | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
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 | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | US 14.9%, Germany 12.8%, Netherlands 8.5%, Saint Lucia 8.5%, Antigua and Barbuda 6.4%, UK 6.4%, Belgium 4.3%, Dominica 4.3%, France 4.3%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.3% (2003) | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | 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 - $440 million (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | 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 | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
Imports - partners | US 30%, Trinidad and Tobago 26.8%, UK 5.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003) | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | 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) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 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: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | based on 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 the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
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: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2004 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% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
Merchant marine | none | 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 | no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 5.9% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 200,859 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -13.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] | 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 | 89,357 (July 2004 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 | 32% (2000) | 15%-25% |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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 (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | 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 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2004 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
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 | 33,500 (2002) | 1.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,600 (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.5% (2000) | 20% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |