Panama (2001) | Syria (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and one territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas | 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:
30.13% (male 436,661; female 420,625) 15-64 years: 63.86% (male 920,787; female 896,520) 65 years and over: 6.01% (male 81,682; female 89,372) (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 | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
Airports | 107 (2000 est.) | 90 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
42 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 22 (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:
65 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 52 (2000 est.) |
total: 64
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 52 (2007) |
Area | total:
78,200 sq km land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 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 South Carolina | slightly larger than North Dakota |
Background | With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. | 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 | 19.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.8 billion expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $7.635 billion
expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Panama | 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 maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) | 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 | 2,490 km | 193 km |
Constitution | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994 | 13 March 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Panama conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
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 | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.56 billion (2000 est.) | $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Simon FERRO embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
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 Alfredo BOYD chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa |
chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
Disputes - international | none | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; 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 | $197.1 million (1995) | $77.85 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Panama's economy is based primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, high oil prices, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000. The government plans public works programs, tax reforms, and new regional trade agreements in order to stimulate growth 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 | 4.049 billion kWh (1999) | 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 95 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 4.413 billion kWh (1999) | 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
27.78% hydro: 71.65% nuclear: 0% other: 0.57% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | balboas per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate) | 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 Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez elected president; percent of vote - Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (PA) 44%, Martin TORRIJOS (PRD) 37% note: government coalition - PA, MOLIRENA, Democratic Change, MORENA, PLN, PS |
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 | $5.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 175,000 bbl/day (2006) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
Exports - partners | US 42%, Germany 11%, Costa Rica 5%, Benelux 4%, Italy 4% (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 | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center | 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 - $16.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 16.5% services: 76.5% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 25.1% services: 50.1% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 80 00 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.) |
Heliports | - | 7 (2007) |
Highways | total:
11,592 km paved: 4,079 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,513 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major cocaine transshipment point and major drug money-laundering center; no recent signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem; Panama was cited by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) an international organization that includes the US Government, for its lack of cooperation in the fight against international money laundering | 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 | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
Imports - partners | US 39%, Colon Free Zone 14%, Japan 8%, Ecuador 6%, Mexico 5% (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 | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2005) |
Industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing |
Infant mortality rate | 20.18 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) | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 10% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 6 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 320 sq km (1993 est.) | 13,330 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal | 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 | 1.1 million (2000 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor |
5.276 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) | agriculture: 26%
industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
555 km border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 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:
7% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 44% other: 27% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 24.8%
permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | 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 Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (71 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 34, PA 18, PDC 5, PS 4, MOLIRENA 3, PLN 3, Democratic Change 2, PRC 1, MORENA 1 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
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:
75.68 years male: 72.94 years female: 78.53 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: 90.8% male: 91.4% female: 90.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.6% male: 86% female: 73.6% (2004 census) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
4,711 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 111,515,984 GRT/169,655,363 DWT ships by type: bulk 1,381, cargo 925, chemical tanker 314, combination bulk 71, combination ore/oil 18, container 525, liquefied gas 193, livestock carrier 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 12, passenger 41, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 544, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 297, roll on/roll off 106, short-sea passenger 36, specialized tanker 29, vehicle carrier 208 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 11, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 21, Belgium 4, The Bahamas 7, Brazil 2, Canada 4, China 154, Chile 4, Cayman Islands 1, Colombia 6, Cuba 7, Cyprus 4, Denmark 12, Egypt 8, Ireland 2, Equatorial Guinea 1, Finland 1, France 4, Germany 17, Greece 248, Hong Kong 158, Honduras 2, Croatia 3, Indonesia 40, India 11, Iran 1, Israel 3, Italy 7, Japan 1,007, Jordan 2, South Korea 223, Latvia 4, Lithuania 1, Liberia 2, Monaco 43, Malta 1, Mexico 5, Malaysia 6, Netherlands 6, Norway 36, Netherlands Antilles 1, Peru 5, Pakistan 1, Portugal 5, Philippines 10, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 6, Seychelles 2, South Africa 5, Singapore 73, Spain 35, Sweden 4, Syria 11, Switzerland 53, UAE 11, Thailand 15, Taiwan 170, UK 18, US 79, Venezuela 18, Samoa 1 (2000 est.) |
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 - note | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" | - |
Military branches | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) | 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 | $128 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY99) | 5.9% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
775,966 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
530,916 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
Nationality | noun:
Panamanian(s) adjective: Panamanian |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
Natural hazards | NA | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 130 km (2001) | gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Arnulfista Party or PA [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Civic Renewal Party or PRC [Serguei DE LA ROSA]; Democratic Change [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Raul ARANGO Gasteazopo]; National Renovation Movement or MORENA [Pedro VALLARINO Cox]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Ramon MORALES]; Solidarity Party or PS [Samuel LEWIS Galindo] | 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 | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP | 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 | 2,845,647 (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 | 37% (1999 est.) | 11.9% (2006 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.3% (2001 est.) | 2.244% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 815,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
355 km broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge |
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 85%, Protestant 15% | 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:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 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 and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic and international facilities well developed domestic: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
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 | 396,000 (1997) | 3.243 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,000 (1997) | 4.675 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.27 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13% (2000 est.) | 12.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 882 km
note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal |
900 km (not economically significant) (2005) |