Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) - Syria (2005)

Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) z Syria (2005)

	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006)	Syria (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick	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: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426) 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 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	bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports	6 (2006)	92 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006)	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 under 914 m: 1 (2006)	total: 66 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative	twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than North Dakota
Background	Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.	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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005.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	16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $6.58 billion expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Kingstown geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Damascus
Climate	tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)	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	84 km	193 km
Constitution	27 October 1979	13 March 1973
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	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)
Death rate	5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$223 million (2004)	$4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	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 Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York	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	joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea	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	$10.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2004)	$180 million (2002 est.)
Economy - overview	Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.	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	88.35 million kWh (2003)	24.32 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	95 million kWh (2003)	26.15 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues	pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive	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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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	black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)	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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister	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	NA bbl/day	285,000 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners	France 50.3%, Italy 21%, Greece 11%, US 4.2% (2005)	Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 25% industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.9% (2005 est.)	2.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 15 N, 61 12 W	35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note	the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays	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: 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	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation	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	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners	France 36.1%, Singapore 12.5%, Italy 11.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.9%, US 7.2% (2005)	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	27 October 1979 (from UK)	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.9% (1997 est.)	7% (2002 est.)
Industries	food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate	total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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)	1% (2005 est.)	2.1% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, 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	10 sq km (2003)	12,130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force	41,680 (1991 est.)	5.12 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 26% industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 est.)	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: 17.95% permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005)	arable land: 25.22% permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001)
Languages	English, French patois	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system	based on English common law	based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3	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: 73.85 years male: 71.99 years female: 75.77 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.03 years male: 68.75 years female: 71.38 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 41 nm
Merchant marine	total: 589 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,449,699 GRT/8,051,250 DWT by type: bulk carrier 106, cargo 351, chemical tanker 5, container 20, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 38, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 529 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 17, Canada 6, China 103, Croatia 9, Cyprus 1, Czech Republic registered in other countries: 1 (Comoros 1) (2006)	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 branches	no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard (2005)	Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	5.9% (FY00)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1979)	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality	noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards	hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	hydropower, cropland	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate	-7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)	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	117,848 (July 2006 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	0.26% (2006 est.)	2.34% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Baniyas, Latakia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant	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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 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 domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: country code - 1-784; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia	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	22,500 (2005)	2,099,300 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	70,600 (2005)	400,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	volcanic, mountainous	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate	1.83 children born/woman (2006 est.)	3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (2001 est.)	20% (2002 est.)
Waterways	-	900 km (not economically significant) (2002)

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