Compare Haiti (2005) - Syria (2007)

Compare Haiti (2005) z Syria (2007)

	Haiti (2005)	Syria (2007)

Administrative divisions	9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est	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: 42.6% (male 1,741,622/female 1,721,436) 15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,137,225/female 2,242,639) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 124,383/female 154,317) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435) 15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, wood	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	13 (2004 est.)	90 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)	total: 64 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 52 (2007)
Area	total: 27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km	total: 185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly larger than North Dakota
Background	The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.	Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah.
Birth rate	36.59 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $330.2 million expenditures: $529.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $7.635 billion expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Port-au-Prince	name: Damascus geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September
Climate	tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off 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	1,771 km	193 km
Constitution	approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti	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)
Death rate	12.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.2 billion (2004 est.)	$6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador James B. FOLEY embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: [509] 223-1641 or 222-0200 ext 460	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444 FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Raymond JOSEPH (as of November 2004) chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, 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	since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican Republic and to sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island	Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan
Economic aid - recipient	$150 million (FY04 est.)	$77.85 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty, and natural disasters frequently sweep the nation. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, 0.9% in 2002, grew 0.4% in 2003, and shrank by 3.5% in 2004. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003. Haiti also suffers from rampant inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In early 2005 Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way to reengagement with the Bank. The resumption of aid flows from all donors is alleviating but not ending the nation's bitter economic problems. Civil strife in 2004 combined with extensive damage from flooding in southern Haiti in May 2004 and Tropical Storm Jeanne in northwestern Haiti in September 2004 further impoverished Haiti.	The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 2.9% in real terms in 2006 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and exports and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Total foreign assets of the Central Bank and domestic banking system rose to about $20 billion in 2006, and the government strengthened the private sector foreign exchange rate by about 7% from the start of the year. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports, weak investment, high unemployment, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.
Electricity - consumption	574.7 million kWh (2002)	24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	618 million kWh (2002)	33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water	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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	black 95%, mulatto and white 5%	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	gourdes per US dollar - 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002), 24.429 (2001), 21.171 (2000)	Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002) note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,
Executive branch	chief of state: Interim President Boniface ALEXANDRE (since 29 February 2004) note: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE resigned as president on 29 February 2004; ALEXANDRE, as Chief of the Supreme Court, constitutionally succeeded Aristide head of government: Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE (since 12 March 2004), chosen by extraconstitutional Council of Eminent Persons representing cross-section of political and civic interests cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92%	chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%
Exports	NA	175,000 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities	manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	US 81.2%, Dominican Republic 7.3%, Canada 4.1% (2004)	Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.2%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 October - 30 September	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 30% industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 24.8% industry: 25.1% services: 50.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	-3.5% (2004 est.)	4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	19 00 N, 72 25 W	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)
Heliports	-	7 (2007)
Highways	total: 4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption	a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	NA	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	US 34.8%, Netherlands Antilles 18%, Malaysia 5.1%, Colombia 4.7% (2004)	Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Germany 4.7%, Iran 4.5% (2006)
Independence	1 January 1804 (from France)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	1.5% (2005)
Industries	sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing
Infant mortality rate	total: 73.45 deaths/1,000 live births male: 79.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 66.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births male: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	22% (2004 est.)	10% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, Caricom (suspended), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNIDO, 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, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land	750 sq km (1998 est.)	13,330 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation	Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce)
Labor force	3.6 million note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)	5.276 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 66%, industry 9%, services 25%	agriculture: 26% industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 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: 28.3% permanent crops: 11.61% other: 60.09% (2001)	arable land: 24.8% permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Creole (official)	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the National Assembly stopped functioning in January 2004 when the terms of all Deputies and two-thirds of sitting Senators expired; no replacements have been elected; the President is currently ruling by decree elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000 with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held in 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000 with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3	unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 52.92 years male: 51.58 years female: 54.31 years (2005 est.)	total population: 70.61 years male: 69.27 years female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.6% male: 86% female: 73.6% (2004 census)
Location	Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic	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 contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4) registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007)
Military branches	the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished	Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$26 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.9% (2003)	5.9% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 January (1804)	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	-1.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Ayiti Kapab [Ernst VERDIEU]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM [Victor BENOIT]; Nationalist Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA [Serge GILLES]; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti or MODELH [Francois LATORTUE]; Grand Center Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert de RONCERAY, Jean BUTEAU, Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH [Clark PARENT]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Lavalas Family or FL [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Michael MADSEN]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRON [Guy PHILIPPE]; National Progressive Democratic Party or PNDPH [Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party (Parti Louvri Bayre) or PLB [leader NA]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti, or Generation 2000 [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; MNP28 [Dejean BELIZAIRE]; KOMBA [Evans LESCOUFLAIR]	legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]); illegal parties: Kurdish Azadi Party [Khayr al-Din MURAD]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [Abd al-Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Democratic Front (includes three parties but no designated leader); Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Ali MUHAMMAD]; Kurdish Future Movement; Kurdish Yekiti Party [Hasan SALEH]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZEM]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; Group of 184 Civil Society Organization, or G-184 [Andy APAID]; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church; Protestant Federation of Haiti	Damascus Declaration [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; National Democratic Front; Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fawed FAWUZ]); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, the SMB, and other small opposition groups); Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Sadr al-Din al-BAYANUNI]; (operates in exile in London; endorsed the Damascus Declaration but is not an official member)
Population	8,121,622 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)	19,314,747 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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	80% (2003 est.)	11.9% (2006 est.)
Population growth rate	2.26% (2005 est.)	2.244% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Cap-Haitien	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982) note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo	Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.898 male(s)/female total population: 1.049 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 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	130,000 (2002)	3.243 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	140,000 (2002)	4.675 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly rough and mountainous	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)	12.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways	-	900 km (not economically significant) (2005)

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