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Compare Syria (2003) - Reunion (2006)
Compare Syria (2003) z Reunion (2006)
| Syria (2003) | Reunion (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 | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
| 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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
| Airports | 92 (2002) | 2 (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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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) |
- |
| 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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| 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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
| Birth rate | 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.) |
revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
| Capital | Damascus | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours 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 in Damascus | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) |
| Coastline | 193 km | 207 km |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | - |
| Death rate | 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2002 est.) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
| Electricity - consumption | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) | 1.19 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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | NA |
| 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 |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
| 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.) | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% |
| Exports - partners | Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) |
| 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 | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
| Heliports | 7 (2002) | - |
| 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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | - |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
| 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 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
| 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: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.9% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| 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 | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 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 | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
| Labor force | 5.2 million (2000 est.) | 299,000 (2002) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | French (official), Creole widely used |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
| 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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.39 years
male: 68.18 years female: 70.67 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Map references | Middle East | World |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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.) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY00) | - |
| 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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003) | - |
| 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] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP |
| 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 | NA |
| 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.) |
787,584 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.45% (2003 est.) | 1.34% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Railways | total: 2,743 km
standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002) |
- |
| 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 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 300,000 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 579,200 (2004) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
| Total fertility rate | 3.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | 31% (2002) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | - |
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