Syria (2004) | Niue (2004) | |
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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; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38% (male 3,524,406; female 3,319,323)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 5,421,133; female 5,163,669) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 281,795; female 306,548) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 93 (2003 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 26
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 66
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 54 (2004 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: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2004), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.106 billion
expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Damascus | Alofi |
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; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 193 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.55 billion (2003 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret SCOBEY
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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; settled border dispute with Jordan in 2004 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy lately has been growing more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors, including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq, probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% 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 suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
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) 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 Hafiz al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Germany 20.9%, Italy 12.6%, UAE 7.6%, Lebanon 6.2%, Turkey 6%, France 5.4%, Croatia 4.8%, US 4.1% (2003) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2003 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 7 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
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; weak anti-money-laundering controls, bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money-laundering | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 30.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, 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, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 4.97 million (2003 est.) | NA (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, industry, services NA | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.71 years
male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk 12, cargo 101, container 2, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Egypt 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Lebanon 10, Romania 1 registered in other countries: 83 (2004 est.) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
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: 4,876,040 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 216,077 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party; the governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallal Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]); Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [lader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM] | NA |
Population | 18,016,874
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 (July 2004 est.) |
2,156 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20% (2003 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
NA (2004 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: country code - 963; 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,099,300 (2002) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400,000 (2002) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | NA (March 1999) |
Waterways | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) | - |