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Compare Syria (2001) - Dominican Republic (2006)
Compare Syria (2001) z Dominican Republic (2006)
| Syria (2001) | Dominican Republic (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 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 | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
39.92% (male 3,440,060; female 3,238,576) 15-64 years: 56.87% (male 4,868,816; female 4,644,870) 65 years and over: 3.21% (male 261,036; female 275,450) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,531,145/female 1,464,076)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 2,902,098/female 2,782,608) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 235,016/female 269,041) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
| Airports | 100 (2000 est.) | 33 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2006) |
| Area | 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 |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
| Background | 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. | Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term. |
| Birth rate | 30.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$2.25 billion expenditures: $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5.322 billion
expenditures: $5.485 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2005) |
| Capital | Damascus | name: Santo Domingo
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | 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 hitting Damascus | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
| Coastline | 193 km | 1,288 km |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 |
| Country name | 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) |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | - |
| Death rate | 5.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.73 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2000 est.) | $7.687 billion (2005 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Flavio Dario ESPINAL Jacobo
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
| Disputes - international | 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 | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $571.6 million (2004) |
| Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. The government recognizes the need to open the economy to additional domestic and foreign investment. | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004 and 2005. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, unemployment remains an important challenge. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. The Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. |
| Electricity - consumption | 16.684 billion kWh (1999) | 11.71 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 17.94 billion kWh (1999) | 12.6 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
57.64% hydro: 42.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% |
| Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001) |
| Executive branch | 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), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) 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 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000 |
chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7% |
| Exports | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
| Exports - partners | Germany 21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) | US 79%, Netherlands 2.4%, Mexico 1.9% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | 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 | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
29% industry: 22% services: 49% (1997) |
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 30.6% services: 58.2% (2003) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti |
| Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | 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%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions |
| Imports | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 129,900 bbl/day (2003) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
| Imports - partners | France 11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, China 4% (1999 est.) | US 50.2%, Colombia 6.2%, Mexico 5.8% (2005) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
| Infant mortality rate | 33.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 28.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 4.2% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, 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, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,750 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative) |
| Labor force | 4.7 million (1998 est.) | 2.3 million-2.6 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 17%
industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
| Land use | arable land:
28% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 3% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Spanish |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | 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%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held in May 2006); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held in May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.77 years male: 67.63 years female: 69.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.73 years
male: 70.21 years female: 73.33 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
| Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM |
territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Merchant marine | total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2006) |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $0 (2002 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY98) | 0% (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,384,528 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,448,630 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
200,859 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
| Nationality | noun:
Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence | Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) |
| Population | 16,728,808
note: in addition, there are about 38,200 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,200 Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,700 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2001 est.) |
9,183,984 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | 25% |
| Population growth rate | 2.54% (2001 est.) | 1.47% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | 4.15 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | 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 (2000) |
total: 517 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076 m, 0.889 m, and 0.762-m gauges (2005) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Roman Catholic 95% |
| Sex ratio | 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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: 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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 894,500 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3.623 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 25 (2003) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
| Total fertility rate | 3.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.83 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | 17% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | - |
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