Guadeloupe (2001) | Syria (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 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:
24.99% (male 55,030; female 52,722) 15-64 years: 66.22% (male 141,294; female 144,232) 65 years and over: 8.79% (male 15,901; female 21,991) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 92 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2000 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:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 66
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
1,780 sq km land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin |
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 | 10 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than North Dakota |
Background | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint-Martin is divided with the Netherlands (whose southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles). | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
Birth rate | 16.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues: $6.58 billion
expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Basse-Terre | Damascus |
Climate | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity | 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 | 306 km | 193 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Department of Guadeloupe conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
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 | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
Disputes - international | none | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personel stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies | $180 million (2002 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. | Real GDP growth rose to 2.3 percent in 2004, a slight increase from 2003 when the predominantly statist economy suffered from disruptions caused by the war in Iraq and other developments in the region. Annual real GDP growth has averaged 2.3 percent for the last seven years. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the last few years, including cutting interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports and pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.209 billion kWh (1999) | 24.32 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.3 billion kWh (1999) | 26.15 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,467 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (official rate): 11.225 (2004), 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), (parallel market rate in Amman and Beirut) NA (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002), 50.4 (2002), 49.4 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA 1996) head of government: President of the General Council Marcellin LUBETH (since NA March 1998); President of the Regional Council Lucette MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils election results: NA |
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 | $140 million (f.o.b., 1997) | 285,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, sugar, rum | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
Exports - partners | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (1997) | Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a gold five-pointed star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the flag of France is used for official occasions | 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 - $3.7 billion (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 17% services: 68% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 15 N, 61 35 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | - | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
Heliports | - | 7 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
2,560 km paved: 965 km unpaved: 1,595 km (1996) |
total: 45,697 km
paved: 6,489 km (including 1,001 km of expressways) unpaved: 39,208 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering |
Imports | $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
Imports - partners | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (1997) | Turkey 9.4%, Ukraine 8.7%, China 7.8%, Russia 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (2002 est.) |
Industries | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | 9.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 125,900 (1997) | 5.12 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
10.2 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 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:
14% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 39% other: 29% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
Languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | French legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - diverse left parties 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, diverse right parties 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - RPR 48.03%, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 24.49%, PCG 5.29%, diverse right parties 5.73%; seats by party - RPR 25, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 12, PCG 2, diverse right parties 2 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FGPS 2, RPR 1, PPDG 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:
77.16 years male: 74.01 years female: 80.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.75 years female: 71.38 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,240 GRT/109 DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 120 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 105, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Egypt 1, Greece 1, Jordan 2, Lebanon 7, Romania 1) registered in other countries: 73 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French Forces, Gendarmerie | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 5.9% (FY00) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun:
Guadeloupian(s) adjective: Guadeloupe |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere is an active volcano | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Christian CELESTE]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Aldo BLAISE]; Socialist Party or PS [Georges LOUISOR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Marcel ESDRAS] | Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI | conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [leader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM] |
Population | 431,170 (July 2001 est.) | 18,448,752
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 20% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.07% (2001 est.) | 2.34% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre | Baniyas, Latakia |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 113,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines |
total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic facilities inadequate domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
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 | 171,000 (1996) | 2,099,300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 400,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.8% (1998) | 20% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) |