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Compare Syria (2003) - Germany (2006)

Compare Syria (2003) z Germany (2006)

 Syria (2003)Germany (2006)
 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 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); 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: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)


15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858)


65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006 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) 554 (2006)
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: 332


over 3,047 m: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 54


1,524 to 2,437 m: 58


914 to 1,523 m: 72


under 914 m: 135 (2006)
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: 222


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 33


under 914 m: 185 (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: 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 Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany 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, which became the EU, 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 introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Birth rate 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $6 billion


expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.)
revenues: $1.249 trillion


expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital Damascus name: Berlin


geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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 mountain (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) -
Death rate 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $22 billion (2002 est.) $3.626 trillion (30 June 2005)
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 William R. TIMKEN, Jr.


embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008


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


telephone: [49] (030) 2385 174


FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215


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 Klaus SCHARIOTH


chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000


FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
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's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.
Electricity - consumption 21.63 billion kWh (2001) 510.4 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 54.1 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 45.4 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 23.26 billion kWh (2001) 558.1 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 57.6%


hydro: 42.4%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 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 established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, 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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (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 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 Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)


head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)


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


elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009)


election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions
Exports NA (2001) 12,990 bbl/day (2003)
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) France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (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 three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
GDP purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 27%


industry: 23%


services: 50% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 0.9%


industry: 29.6%


services: 69.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 3.6% (2002 est.) 0.9% (2005 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) 32 (2006)
Highways total: 43,381 km


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


unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.6%


highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)
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; major financial center
Imports NA (2001) 2.135 million bbl/day (2003)
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) France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK 6.3%, Italy 5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005)
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% 2.9% (2005 est.)
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.)
total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.9% (2002 est.) 2% (2005 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, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) 4,850 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 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.) 43.32 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) agriculture: 2.8%


industry: 33.4%


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: 3,621 km


border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 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: 33.13%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 66.27% (2005)
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 (613 seats; 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 three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)


elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held September 2009); 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 - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51
Life expectancy at birth total population: 69.39 years


male: 68.18 years


female: 70.67 years (2003 est.)
total population: 78.8 years


male: 75.81 years


female: 81.96 years (2006 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%


male: 99%


female: 99% (2003 est.)
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
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/13,091,194 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13, container 273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)


registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and Barbuda 858, Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13, Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2, Netherlands 56, Netherlands Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama 35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006)
Military branches Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending $35.063 billion (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.9% (FY00) 1.5% (2003)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 4,715,386 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,629,148 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 19 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 210,941 (2003 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 coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003) condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,827 km (2006)
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 [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]
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 business associations, 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.)
82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 15%-25% NA%
Population growth rate 2.45% (2003 est.) -0.02% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus -
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways total: 2,743 km


standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002)
total: 47,201 km


standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (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) Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
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: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 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, dating back to World War II, 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, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries


international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use 1.313 million (1997) 55.046 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 79.2 million (2005)
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.) 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 20% (2002 est.) 11.7% (2005 est.)
Waterways 870 km (minimal economic importance) 7,467 km


note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2005)
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