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Compare Reunion (2001) - Syria (2005)
Compare Reunion (2001) z Syria (2005)
| Reunion (2001) | Syria (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 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:
32.07% (male 120,259; female 114,669) 15-64 years: 62.25% (male 224,347; female 231,698) 65 years and over: 5.68% (male 16,892; female 24,705) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 92 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 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: 66
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
2,512 sq km land: 2,502 sq km water: 10 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 Rhode Island | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
| Birth rate | 21.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
NA expenditures: NA |
revenues: $6.58 billion
expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Saint-Denis | Damascus |
| Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | 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 | 207 km | 193 km |
| Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
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 | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | - |
| Death rate | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none (overseas department of France) | 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; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personel stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $180 million (2002 est.) |
| Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | Real GDP growth rose to 2.3 percent in 2004, a slight increase from 2003 when the predominantly statist economy suffered from disruptions caused by the war in Iraq and other developments in the region. Annual real GDP growth has averaged 2.3 percent for the last seven years. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the last few years, including cutting interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports and pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 24.32 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 26.15 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
54.55% hydro: 45.45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (official rate): 11.225 (2004), 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), (parallel market rate in Amman and Beirut) NA (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002), 50.4 (2002), 49.4 (2000) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Robert POMMIES (since NA 1996) head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 | $214 million (f.o.b., 1997) | 285,000 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
| Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 2.3% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | - | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
| Heliports | - | 7 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1600 km by local authorities (1994) |
total: 45,697 km
paved: 6,489 km (including 1,001 km of expressways) unpaved: 39,208 km (2002) |
| 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; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering |
| Imports | $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
| Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | Turkey 9.4%, Ukraine 8.7%, China 7.8%, Russia 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2004) |
| Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 8.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | 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 |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 60 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
| Labor force | 261,000 (1995) | 5.12 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) | agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 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:
17% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 35% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
| Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | French law | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (47 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8, PS 6, RPR 4, various right-wing candidates 15, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held 14 April 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1, PCR 2; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 3, PS 1, and RPR-UDF 1 |
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:
72.93 years male: 69.53 years female: 76.49 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.75 years female: 71.38 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | World | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
| Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 120 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 105, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Egypt 1, Greece 1, Jordan 2, Lebanon 7, Romania 1) registered in other countries: 73 (2005) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
| Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 5.9% (FY00) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
190,846 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
97,497 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
6,243 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun:
Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; 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 Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [leader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM] |
| Population | 732,570 (July 2001 est.) | 18,448,752
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 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 20% (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.57% (2001 est.) | 2.34% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Baniyas, Latakia |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 173,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 236,500 (1997) | 2,099,300 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 85,000 (1999) | 400,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 22 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 2.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) | 20% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) |
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