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Compare Syria (2003) - Germany (2001)

Compare Syria (2003) z Germany (2001)

 Syria (2003)Germany (2001)
 SyriaGermany
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 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen
Age structure 0-14 years: 38.6% (male 3,494,473; female 3,290,699)


15-64 years: 58.2% (male 5,238,026; female 4,991,588)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 274,744; female 296,010) (2003 est.)
0-14 years:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994)

15-64 years:
67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698)

65 years and over:
16.61% (male 5,336,664; female 8,456,615) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports 92 (2002) 613 (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:
322

over 3,047 m:
13

2,438 to 3,047 m:
55

1,524 to 2,437 m:
67

914 to 1,523 m:
63

under 914 m:
124 (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:
291

over 3,047 m:
2

2,438 to 3,047 m:
6

1,524 to 2,437 m:
5

914 to 1,523 m:
53

under 914 m:
225 (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:
357,021 sq km

land:
349,223 sq km

water:
7,798 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than North Dakota slightly smaller than Montana
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. As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries formed a common European currency, the euro.
Birth rate 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $6 billion


expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.)
revenues:
$996 billion

expenditures:
$1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Capital Damascus Berlin
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 temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind
Coastline 193 km 2,389 km
Constitution 13 March 1973 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990
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:
Federal Republic of Germany

conventional short form:
Germany

local long form:
Bundesrepublik Deutschland

local short form:
Deutschland

former:
German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Currency Syrian pound (SYP) deutsche mark (DEM); 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 Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002
Death rate 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $22 billion (2002 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 John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001)

embassy:
Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin

mailing address:
PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265

telephone:
[49] (30) 238-5174

FAX:
[49] (30) 238-6290

consulate(s) general:
Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador (acting) Imad MUSTAFA


chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313


FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
chief of mission:
Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG

chancery:
4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:
[1] (202) 298-8141

FAX:
[1] (202) 298-4249

consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

consulate(s):
Wellington (America Samoa)
Disputes - international Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province none
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient $199 million (1997 est.) -
Economy - overview Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Germany possesses the world's third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European economic integration and globalization in general.
Electricity - consumption 21.63 billion kWh (2001) 495.181 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 39.5 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 40.5 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 23.26 billion kWh (2001) 531.377 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 57.6%


hydro: 42.4%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel:
63.29%

hydro:
3.59%

nuclear:
30.3%

other:
2.82% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m

highest point:
Zugspitze 2,963 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government currently attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
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% German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish)
Exchange rates Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), 11.23 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998) euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (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 Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003), 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 Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)

head of government:
Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)

cabinet:
Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor

elections:
president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of 2002)

election results:
Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7%
Exports NA (2001) $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.) machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002) EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2.0% (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 horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
GDP purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 27%


industry: 23%


services: 50% (2000 est.)
agriculture:
1.2%

industry:
30.4%

services:
68.4% (1999)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3.6% (2002 est.) 3% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 35 00 N, 38 00 E 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography - note there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Heliports 7 (2002) 59 (2000 est.)
Highways total: 43,381 km


paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways)


unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
total:
656,140 km

paved:
650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways)

unpaved:
5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
-
Illicit drugs a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs
Imports NA (2001) $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners Italy 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, South Korea 4.8%, France 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (2002) EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999)
Independence 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
Industrial production growth rate NA% 4.7% (2000)
Industries petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles
Infant mortality rate total: 31.67 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 31.89 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 31.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.9% (2002 est.) 2% (2000 est.)
International organization participation AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, 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, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 123 (2000)
Irrigated land 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) 4,750 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 Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Labor force 5.2 million (2000 est.) 40.5 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (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:
3,618 km

border countries:
Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Land use arable land: 25.96%


permanent crops: 4.08%


other: 69.96% (1998 est.)
arable land:
33%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
31%

other:
20% (1993 est.)
Languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood German
Legal system based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal 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 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)

elections:
Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election

election results:
Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15
Life expectancy at birth total population: 69.39 years


male: 68.18 years


female: 70.67 years (2003 est.)
total population:
77.61 years

male:
74.47 years

female:
80.92 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 76.9%


male: 89.7%


female: 64% (2003 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
99% (1977 est.)

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
Location Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
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

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
Merchant marine total: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 450,135 GRT/645,296 DWT


ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 109, container 2, livestock carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 1, 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:
457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT

ships by type:
cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.)
Military branches Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending $32.8 billion (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.9% (FY00) 1.5% (FY98)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 4,715,386 (2003 est.) males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,629,148 (2003 est.) males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 19 years of age (2003 est.) 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 210,941 (2003 est.) males:
482,318 (2001 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 17 April (1946) Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Nationality noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
noun:
German(s)

adjective:
German
Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms flooding
Natural resources petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003) crude oil 2,500 km (1998)
Political parties and leaders National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al ASAD], Syrian Communist Party [leader NA], Unionist Socialist Party [leader NA], Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani QANNUT], and Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Sami SUFAN]) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman]
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 employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
Population 17,585,540 (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.) (July 2003 est.)
83,029,536 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 15%-25% NA%
Population growth rate 2.45% (2003 est.) 0.27% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios - 77.8 million (1997)
Railways total: 2,743 km


standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002)
total:
40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998)

note:
since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks
Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3%
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: 0.93 male(s)/female


total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
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:
Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part

domestic:
Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign countries

international:
satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links
Telephones - main lines in use 1.313 million (1997) 45.2 million (1997)

note:
46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 15.318 million (April 1999)
Television broadcast stations 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Total fertility rate 3.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 20% (2002 est.) 9.9% (2000 est.)
Waterways 870 km (minimal economic importance) 7,500 km

note:
major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999)
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