##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Moldova (2001) - Syria (2007)
Compare Moldova (2001) z Syria (2007)
| Moldova (2001) | Syria (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 10 juletule (singular - juletul), 1 municipality*, and 1 autonomous territorial unit**; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Dubasari, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Tighina, Ungheni | 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:
22.44% (male 506,303; female 488,311) 15-64 years: 67.62% (male 1,437,492; female 1,559,090) 65 years and over: 9.94% (male 163,473; female 276,901) (2001 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 | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 30 (2000 est.) | 90 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
total: 64
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 52 (2007) |
| Area | total:
33,843 sq km land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 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 larger than Maryland | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru (Dnister) River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. One of the poorest nations in Europe and plagued by a moribund economy, in 2001 Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist as its president. | 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 | 13.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$536 million expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $7.635 billion
expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Chisinau | 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 | moderate winters, warm summers | 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 | 0 km (landlocked) | 193 km |
| Constitution | new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979 | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local long form: Republica Moldova local short form: none former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia |
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 | Moldovan leu (MDL) | - |
| Death rate | 12.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $900 million (2000) | $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rudolf Vilem PERINA embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 2009 mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080 telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72 FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44 |
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:
Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 |
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 | separatist Transnistria region, comprising the area between the Nistru (Dniester) River and Ukraine, has its own de facto government, dominated by Moldovan Slavs | 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 | $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99) | $77.85 million (2005 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past seven years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued to be erratic. GDP declined slightly in 2000, with a serious drought hurting agriculture. Growth should turn positive in 2001. | 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 | 5.78 billion kWh (1999) | 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.916 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 4.155 billion kWh (1999) | 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
93.62% hydro: 6.38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nistru (Dnister) River 2 m highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
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 | Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region |
Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | lei per US dollar - 12.3728 (January 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996); note - lei is the plural form of leu | 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:
President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), three Deputy Prime Ministers: Valerian CRISTEA, Andrei CUCU, and Dmitri TODOROGLO (all since 19 April 2001) cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001; presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections (moved up a year to February 2001); according to the Moldovan constitution, the president, on consulting with Parliament, will designate a candidate for the office of prime minister; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate will request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated on 15 April 2001, cabinet received vote of confidence on 19 April 2001 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV elected Prime Minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 |
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 | $500 million (f.o.b., 2000) | 175,000 bbl/day (2006) |
| Exports - commodities | foodstuffs 57%, wine, tobacco; textiles and footwear, machinery (1999) | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
| Exports - partners | Russia 41%, Romania 9%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 7%, Italy, Belarus (1999) | Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.2%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow | 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 - $11.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
31% industry: 35% services: 34% (1998) |
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 25.1% services: 50.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | -1.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 29 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.) |
| Heliports | - | 7 (2007) |
| Highways | total:
20,000 km paved: 13,900 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 25.8% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia via Central Asia to Russia, Western Europe, and possibly the US | 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 | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products and fuel 38%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (1999) | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
| Imports - partners | Russia 21%, Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Germany 12%, Italy 6%, Belarus (1999) | 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 | 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2005) |
| Industries | food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing |
| Infant mortality rate | 42.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 32% (2000 est.) | 10% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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 |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (1999) | - |
| Irrigated land | 3,110 sq km (1993 est.) | 13,330 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) | 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 | 1.7 million (1998) | 5.276 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, other 46% (1998) | agriculture: 26%
industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,389 km border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 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:
53% permanent crops: 14% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 13% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 24.8%
permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005) |
| Languages | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents | 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 | unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11 |
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:
64.6 years male: 60.15 years female: 69.26 years (2001 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: 96% male: 99% female: 94% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.6% male: 86% female: 73.6% (2004 census) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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 | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops) | 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 | $6 million (FY99) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,164,018 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
921,210 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
42,268 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 27 August (1991) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun:
Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | landslides (57 cases in 1998) | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | natural gas 310 km (1992) | gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman] | 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 | NA | 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 | 4,431,570 (July 2001 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 | 75% (1999 est.) | 11.9% (2006 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.05% (2001 est.) | 2.244% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 3.22 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
1,328 km broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992) |
total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991) | 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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 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:
inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau, some effort to modernize is under way domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced international: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik |
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 | 627,000 (1997) | 3.243 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,200 (1997) | 4.675 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.67 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (November 2000) | 12.5% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 424 km (1994) | 900 km (not economically significant) (2005) |
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