##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Sri Lanka (2001) - Syria (2002)
Compare Sri Lanka (2001) z Syria (2002)
| Sri Lanka (2001) | Syria (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern | 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:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928) 15-64 years: 67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 14 (2000 est.) | 99 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
| Area | total:
65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. | 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. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
| Birth rate | 16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital | Damascus |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | 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 | 1,340 km | 193 km |
| Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978 | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
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 | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Death rate | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2000) | $22 billion (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
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 Warnasena RASAPUTRAM chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI
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; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province |
| Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
| Economy - overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 5.604 billion kWh (1999) | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 650 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 6.026 billion kWh (1999) | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo | 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
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 Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) 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 Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 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 | $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) |
| Exports - partners | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (1999) | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
21% industry: 19% services: 60% (1998) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
| Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
| Highways | total:
11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
total: 41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
| Imports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
| Imports - partners | Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999) | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) |
| Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999) | NA% |
| Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2000 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 5,500 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
| Labor force | 6.6 million (1998) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 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:
14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 10 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PA 45.11%, UNP 40.22%, JVP 6%, NUA 2.29%, SU 1.48%, TULF 1.23%, other 3.67%; seats by party - PA 107, UNP 89, JVP 10, TULF 5, EPDP 4, NUA 4, TELO 3, ACTC 1, SU 1, independent 1 |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) 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:
72.09 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Asia | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
| Merchant marine | total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $719 million (FY98) | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY98) | 5.9% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
5,304,323 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
4,119,511 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
193,522 (2001 est.) |
males: 200,859 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun:
Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
| Political parties and leaders | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [Nalliah GURUPAUAN]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [Raja COLLURE]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDATHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM and Ferial ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SUBRAMANIUM]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
| Population | 19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West |
17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
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 (February 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | 15%-25% |
| Population growth rate | 0.87% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 3.85 million (1997) | 4.15 million (1997) |
| Railways | total:
1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) |
total: 2,750 km
standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001) |
| Religions | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) | 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: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 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: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: 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 | 494,509 (1998) | 1.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 228,604 (1999) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 8.8% (1999 est.) | 20% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |
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