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Compare Syria (2002) - Italy (2001)
Compare Syria (2002) z Italy (2001)
| Syria (2002) | Italy (2001) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
14.17% (male 4,209,102; female 3,964,765) 15-64 years: 67.48% (male 19,375,742; female 19,546,332) 65 years and over: 18.35% (male 4,368,264; female 6,215,620) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 99 (2001) | 135 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total:
97 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
| 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:
301,230 sq km land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly larger than Arizona |
| 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. | Italy became a nation-state belatedly - in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the more prosperous north. |
| Birth rate | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$488 billion expenditures: $501 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Damascus | Rome |
| 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 in Damascus | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Coastline | 193 km | 7,600 km |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 1 January 1948 |
| 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:
Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Italy at a fixed rate of 1,936.27 Italian lire per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
| Death rate | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2001 est.) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
| 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 Ferdinando SALLEO chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2154 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
| 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; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1997) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | - |
| Economy - overview | 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. | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Since 1992, Italy has adopted budgets compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); wage moderation agreements by representatives of government, labor, and employers have helped to bring Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. Italy's economic performance, however, has lagged behind that of its EU partners and it must work to stimulate employment, promote labor flexibility, reform its expensive pension system, and tackle the informal economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) | 272.35 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 650 million kWh (2000) | 530 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 42.539 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) | 247.679 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
79.09% hydro: 18.08% nuclear: 0% other: 2.83% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) 4,807 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities |
| 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
| Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996) |
| 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), 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 |
chief of state:
President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a 12-party government coalition; note - BERLUSCONI's coalition includes Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Northern League |
| Exports | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $241.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
| Exports - partners | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) | EU 56.8% (Germany 16.4%, France 12.9%, Netherlands 7.1%, Spain 6.3%, Netherlands 2.9%), US 9.5% (1999) |
| 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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.273 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
2.5% industry: 30.4% services: 67.1% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22,100 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
| Heliports | 7 (2002) | 4 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total: 41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
total:
654,676 km paved: 654,676 km (including 6460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market |
| Imports | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $231.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports - partners | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) | EU 61% (Germany 19.3%, France 12.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, Spain 4.4%), US 5.0% (1999) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.9% (2000) |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
| Infant mortality rate | 32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2000) |
| International organization participation | 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 | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 27,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
| Labor force | 4.7 million (1998 est.) | 23.4 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) | services 61.9%, industry 32.6%, agriculture 5.5% (1999) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total:
1,932.2 km border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
| Land use | arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
31% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 23% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted 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%, 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation plus, in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
79.14 years male: 75.97 years female: 82.52 years (2001 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: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Map references | Middle East | Europe |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | 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.) |
total:
445 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,005,136 GRT/10,556,244 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 41, chemical tanker 77, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 38, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 11, petroleum tanker 85, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 64, short-sea passenger 26, specialized tanker 14, vehicle carrier 15 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $20.7 billion (FY00/01) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY98) | 1.7% (FY00/01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
14,248,674 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
12,244,166 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 200,859 (2002 est.) | males:
304,369 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun:
Italian(s) adjective: Italian |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 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, 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] | Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Christian Democratic Center or CDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Grazia FRANCESCATO]; House of Liberties (formerly Freedom Alliance, a center-right coalition) [leader Silvio BERLUSCONI] - Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Democratic Union, Northern League; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Democratic Socialists [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Popular Party [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolored Flame or MSI-FI [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Radical Party (formerly Panella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Union of Democrats for Europe [Clemente MASTELLA]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI] |
| 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 | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) |
| Population | 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.) |
57,679,825 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 0.07% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
| Radios | 4.15 million (1997) | 50.5 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 (2001) |
total:
19,394 km standard gauge: 18,071 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,014 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,322 km electrified) narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,211 km 0.950-m gauge (153 km electrified) (1998) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
| 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: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
| 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:
modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 25 million (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 20.5 million (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Total fertility rate | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | 2,400 km
note: for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value |
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