Isle of Man (2002) | Syria (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | 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: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
39.92% (male 3,440,060; female 3,238,576) 15-64 years: 56.87% (male 4,868,816; female 4,644,870) 65 years and over: 3.21% (male 261,036; female 275,450) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 100 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 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 | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than North Dakota |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. | 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 | 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 30.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
revenues:
$2.25 billion expenditures: $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Douglas | Damascus |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | 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 hitting Damascus |
Coastline | 160 km | 193 km |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
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 | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Death rate | 11.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $22 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $199 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. The government recognizes the need to open the economy to additional domestic and foreign investment. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 16.684 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 17.94 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
57.64% hydro: 42.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point:
unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international 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 | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since NA 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald |
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), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) 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 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000 |
Exports | $NA | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | UK | Germany 21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | 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 - $1.4 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
29% industry: 22% services: 49% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 13.5% (1999 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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 | - | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
Imports | $NA | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | UK | France 11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, China 4% (1999 est.) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY96/97 ) | NA% |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
Infant mortality rate | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 33.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ABEDA, 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, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
Labor force | 36,610 (1998) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.) |
arable land:
28% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 3% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
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%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.81 years
male: 74.44 years female: 81.36 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
68.77 years male: 67.63 years female: 69.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 5.9% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,384,528 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,448,630 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
200,859 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun:
Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | NA | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | none | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
Population | 73,873 (July 2002 est.) | 16,728,808
note: in addition, there are about 38,200 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,200 Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,700 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 15%-25% |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2002 est.) | 2.54% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | NA | 4.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001) | 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 (2000) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
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 | 51,000 (1999) | 1.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (February 2002 ) | 20% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |