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Compare Mexico (2005) - Syria (2004)

Compare Mexico (2005) z Syria (2004)

 Mexico (2005)Syria (2004)
 MexicoSyria
Administrative divisions 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas 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: 31.1% (male 16,844,400/female 16,159,511)


15-64 years: 63.3% (male 32,521,043/female 34,704,093)


65 years and over: 5.6% (male 2,715,010/female 3,258,846) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 38% (male 3,524,406; female 3,319,323)


15-64 years: 58.7% (male 5,421,133; female 5,163,669)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 281,795; female 306,548) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports 1,833 (2004 est.) 93 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 233


over 3,047 m: 12


2,438 to 3,047 m: 28


1,524 to 2,437 m: 84


914 to 1,523 m: 80


under 914 m: 29 (2004 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: 1,600


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 69


914 to 1,523 m: 454


under 914 m: 1,075 (2004 est.)
total: 66


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 10


under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area total: 1,972,550 sq km


land: 1,923,040 sq km


water: 49,510 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 less than three times the size of Texas slightly larger than North Dakota
Background The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. 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. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate 21.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $160 billion


expenditures: $158 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
revenues: $6.106 billion


expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.)
Capital Mexico (Distrito Federal) Damascus
Climate varies from tropical to desert 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 9,330 km 193 km
Constitution 5 February 1917 13 March 1973
Country name conventional long form: United Mexican States


conventional short form: Mexico


local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos


local short form: Mexico
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 - Syrian pound (SYP)
Death rate 4.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $149.9 billion (2004 est.) $21.55 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA


embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal


mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900


telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000


FAX: [52] (55) 5525-5040


consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana


consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo, Laredo
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 chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto de ICAZA Gonzalez


chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006


telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600


FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)


consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi (Texas), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
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 prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from illegally crossing the border with Mexico Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; settled border dispute with Jordan in 2004
Economic aid - recipient $1.166 billion (1995) $199 million (1997 est.)
Economy - overview Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow. Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption 189.7 billion kWh (2002) 21.63 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 98.65 million kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 367.7 million kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 203.6 billion kWh (2002) 23.26 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m


highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion


note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates Mexican pesos per US dollar - 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001), 9.456 (2000) Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate


elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held 2 July 2006)


election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
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 1.863 million bbl/day (2004) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners US 87.6%, Canada 1.8%, Spain 1.1% (2004) Germany 20.9%, Italy 12.6%, UAE 7.6%, Lebanon 6.2%, Turkey 6%, France 5.4%, Croatia 4.8%, US 4.1% (2003)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band 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 - $58.01 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 27.2%


services: 68.9% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 28.5%


industry: 29.4%


services: 42.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $9,600 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.1% (2004 est.) 0.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 23 00 N, 102 00 W 35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports 2 (2004 est.) 7 (2003 est.)
Highways total: 329,532 km


paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways)


unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.)
total: 43,381 km


paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways)


unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.6%


highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)
lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 70 percent of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center 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 205,000 bbl/day (2004) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners US 53.7%, China 7%, Japan 5.1% (2004) Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003)
Independence 16 September 1810 (from Spain) 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate 3.8% (2004 est.) NA
Industries food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate total: 20.91 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 22.85 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 30.82 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 30.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5.4% (2004 est.) 1.5% (2003 est.)
International organization participation APEC, BCIE, BIS, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, 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, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) 12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force 34.73 million (2004 est.) 4.97 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003) agriculture, industry, services NA
Land boundaries total: 4,353 km


border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 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: 12.99%


permanent crops: 1.31%


other: 85.7% (2001)
arable land: 25.22%


permanent crops: 4.43%


other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held 2 July 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held 2 July 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5, unassigned 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 222, PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6, CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special elections were held in December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won one seat and were each assigned one additional proportional representation seat
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: 75.19 years


male: 72.42 years


female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)
total population: 69.71 years


male: 68.47 years


female: 71.02 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 92.2%


male: 94%


female: 90.5% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 76.9%


male: 89.7%


female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references North America Middle East
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 41 nm
Merchant marine total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 649,389 GRT/942,766 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 4


foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, UAE 1, United States 1)


registered in other countries: 6 (2005)
total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT


by type: bulk 12, cargo 101, container 2, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Lebanon 10, Romania 1


registered in other countries: 83 (2004 est.)
Military branches Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena): Army and Air Force (FAM)


Secretariat of the Navy (Semar): Naval Air and Marines (2004)
Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $6.043 billion (2004) $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.9% (2004) 5.9% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 4,876,040 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 216,077 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 16 September (1810) Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality noun: Mexican(s)


adjective: Mexican
noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate -4.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km (2003) gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] 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 Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [lader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM]
Population 106,202,903 (July 2005 est.) 18,016,874


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 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2003 est.) 20% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.17% (2005 est.) 2.4% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 17,634 km


standard gauge: 17,634 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)
total: 2,711 km


standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003)
Religions nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% 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: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 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: 0.92 male(s)/female


total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: low telephone density with about 15.2 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant


domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable


international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)
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 15,958,700 (2003) 2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 28.125 million (2003) 400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate 2.45 children born/woman (2005 est.) 3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 3.2% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2004 est.) 20% (2002 est.)
Waterways 2,900 km


note: navigable rivers and coastal canals (2004)
900 km (not economically significant) (2002)
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