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Compare Serbia and Montenegro (2002) - Syria (2007)

Compare Serbia and Montenegro (2002) z Syria (2007)

 Serbia and Montenegro (2002)Syria (2007)
 Serbia and MontenegroSyria
Administrative divisions 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* 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: 19.6% (male 1,077,581; female 1,005,379)


15-64 years: 65.3% (male 3,415,929; female 3,546,410)


65 years and over: 15.1% (male 690,014; female 921,616) (2002 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 cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports 46 (2001) 90 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 19 19


over 3,047 m: 2 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 5


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 6


914 to 1,523 m: 2 2


under 914 m: 4 4 (2002)
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: 26 27


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 12


under 914 m: 2 13 (2002)
total: 64


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 52 (2007)
Area total: 102,350 sq km


land: 102,136 sq km


water: 214 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 Kentucky slightly larger than North Dakota
Background The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegran components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. An agreement was also reached to hold a referendum in each republic in three years on full independence. 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 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.9 billion


expenditures: $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
revenues: $7.635 billion


expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)
Capital Belgrade 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 in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland 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 199 km 193 km
Constitution 27 April 1992 13 March 1973
Country name conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro


conventional short form: none


local long form: Srbija-Crna Gora


local short form: none
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 new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002) -
Death rate 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $9.2 billion (2001 est.) $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY


embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade


telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344


FAX: [381] (11) 646-031


branch office: Pristina
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ivan ZIVKOVIC


chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 462-6566
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 Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)-Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) signed and ratified a boundary agreement, which adjusts the former republic boundaries, with demarcation to commence in 2002; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute authority of the agreement which cedes small tracts of Kosovo to F.Y.R.O.M.; Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro continue to discuss disputed Prevlaka Peninsula and control over the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent UN intention to withdraw UNMOP observer mission 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 $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years) $77.85 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo has left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt and provide a basis for Belgrade to seek similar debt relief on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain it's own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the economy; nonetheless, growth may be 4.5% in 2003. 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 31.546 billion kWh (2000) 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - exports 43 million kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 914 million kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 32.984 billion kWh (2000) 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 59%


hydro: 41%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m


highest point: Daravica 2,656 m
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Environment - current issues pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity
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 Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (January 2002), 10.0 (December 1998), 5.85 (December 1997), 5.02 (September 1996); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998), 8.9 (December 1997) 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 Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003)


head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001)


cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet


elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president


election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; percent of vote - Svetozar MAROVIC NA%
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 $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) 175,000 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners Italy 16.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.1%, Germany 12.1%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 9.2% (2001) 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 three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red 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 - $25.3 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 26%


industry: 36%


services: 38% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 24.8%


industry: 25.1%


services: 50.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,370 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 3.5% (2002 est.) 4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 44 00 N, 21 00 E 35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)
Heliports 4 (2002) 7 (2007)
Highways total: 48,603 km


paved: 28,822 km (including 560 km of expressways)


unpaved: 19,781 km


note: because of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, many road bridges were destroyed; since the end of the conflict in June 1999, there has been an intensive program to either rebuild bridges or build by-pass routes (1999)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to 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 $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners Russia 14.2%, Germany 12.2%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 4.5% (2001) 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 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate 1.8% (2002 est.) 1.5% (2005)
Industries machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing
Infant mortality rate 17.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) 18% (2002 est.) 10% (2006 est.)
International organization participation ABEDA, BIS, CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, 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) 9 (2000) -
Irrigated land 570 sq km 13,330 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms


note: after the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal Court will have constitutional and administrative functions; it will have an equal number of judges from each republic
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 3 million (2001 est.) 5.276 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% agriculture: 26%


industry: 14%


services: 60% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 2,246 km


border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 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: 36.34%


permanent crops: 3.44%


other: 60.22% (1998 est.)
arable land: 24.8%


permanent crops: 4.47%


other: 70.73% (2005)
Languages Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Legal system based on civil law system 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 (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the president will call for public elections


elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 37, DLECG 19, DSS 17, ZP 14, SPS 12, SRS 8, SDP 5, SSJ 5, other 9
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: 73.72 years


male: 70.78 years


female: 76.89 years (2002 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: 93%


male: 97.2%


female: 88.9% (1991)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 79.6%


male: 86%


female: 73.6% (2004 census)
Location Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references Europe Middle East
Maritime claims NA territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm
Merchant marine total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,437 GRT/400 DWT


ships by type: short-sea passenger 1 (2002 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 branches Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) 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 $654 million (2002) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 5.9% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 2,589,437 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,082,322 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 19 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 82,542 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Republic Day, 29 November Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)


adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin
noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards destructive earthquakes dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural gas 2,110 km gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic List for European Montenegro or DLECG [leader NA]; Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS (a coalition of many small parties including DSS) [leader NA]; Democratic Party or DS [Zoran DJINDJIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Party of Serb Unity or SSJ [Borislav PELEVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Zoran ANDJELKOVIC, general secretary]; Social Dmocratic Party or SDP [Rasim LJAJIC]; Together for Changes or ZP [leader NA] 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 Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI] 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 10,656,929


note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 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 30% 11.9% (2006 est.)
Population growth rate -0.12% (2002 est.) 2.244% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika -
Radio broadcast stations AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios 3.15 million (1997) -
Railways total: 4,059 km


standard gauge: 4,059 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km electrified)


note: during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction; many rail bridges have been rebuilt; Montenegrin rail lines remain intact (2001)
total: 2,711 km


standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
Religions Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% 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: 1.08 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 2.017 million (1995) 3.243 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 87,000 (1997) 4.675 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate 1.78 children born/woman (2002 est.) 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 28% (2002 est.) 12.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways 587 km


note: the Danube River, central Europe's connection with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction is bypassed by a canal system, the inadequate lock size of which limits the size of vessels which may pass; the pontoon bridge can be opened for large ships but has slowed river traffic (2001)
900 km (not economically significant) (2005)
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