Syria (2004) | Slovenia (2005) | |
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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 | 182 municipalities (obcine, singular - obcina) and 11 urban municipalities* (mestne obcine , singular - mestna obcina ) Ajdovscina, Beltinci, Benedikt, Bistrica ob Sotli, Bled, Bloke, Bohinj, Borovnica, Bovec, Braslovce, Brda, Brezice, Brezovica, Cankova, Celje*, Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Cerknica, Cerkno, Cerkvenjak, Crensovci, Crna na Koroskem, Crnomelj, Destrnik, Divaca, Dobje, Dobrepolje, Dobrna, Dobrova-Horjul-Polhov Gradec, Dobrovnik-Dobronak, Dolenjske Toplice, Dol pri Ljubljani, Domzale, Dornava, Dravograd, Duplek, Gorenja Vas-Poljane, Gorisnica, Gornja Radgona, Gornji Grad, Gornji Petrovci, Grad, Grosuplje, Hajdina, Hoce-Slivnica, Hodos-Hodos, Horjul, Hrastnik, Hrpelje-Kozina, Idrija, Ig, Ilirska Bistrica, Ivancna Gorica, Izola-Isola, Jesenice, Jezersko, Jursinci, Kamnik, Kanal, Kidricevo, Kobarid, Kobilje, Kocevje, Komen, Komenda, Koper-Capodistria*, Kostel, Kozje, Kranj*, Kranjska Gora, Krizevci, Krsko, Kungota, Kuzma, Lasko, Lenart, Lendava-Lendva, Litija, Ljubljana*, Ljubno, Ljutomer, Logatec, Loska Dolina, Loski Potok, Lovrenc na Pohorju, Luce, Lukovica, Majsperk, Maribor*, Markovci, Medvode, Menges, Metlika, Mezica, Miklavz na Dravskem Polju, Miren-Kostanjevica, Mirna Pec, Mislinja, Moravce, Moravske Toplice, Mozirje, Murska Sobota*, Muta, Naklo, Nazarje, Nova Gorica*, Novo Mesto*, Odranci, Oplotnica, Ormoz, Osilnica, Pesnica, Piran-Pirano, Pivka, Podcetrtek, Podlehnik, Podvelka, Polzela, Postojna, Prebold, Preddvor, Prevalje, Ptuj*, Puconci, Race-Fram, Radece, Radenci, Radlje ob Dravi, Radovljica, Ravne na Koroskem, Razkrizje, Ribnica, Ribnica na Pohorju, Rogasovci, Rogaska Slatina, Rogatec, Ruse, Salovci, Selnica ob Dravi, Semic, Sempeter-Vrtojba, Sencur, Sentilj, Sentjernej, Sentjur pri Celju, Sevnica, Sezana, Skocjan, Skofja Loka, Skofljica, Slovenj Gradec*, Slovenska Bistrica, Slovenske Konjice, Smarje pri Jelsah, Smartno ob Paki, Smartno pri Litiji, Sodrazica, Solcava, Sostanj, Starse, Store, Sveta Ana, Sveti Andraz v Slovenskih Goricah, Sveti Jurij, Tabor, Tisina, Tolmin, Trbovlje, Trebnje, Trnovska Vas, Trzic, Trzin, Turnisce, Velenje*, Velika Polana, Velike Lasce, Verzej, Videm, Vipava, Vitanje, Vodice, Vojnik, Vransko, Vrhnika, Vuzenica, Zagorje ob Savi, Zalec, Zavrc, Zelezniki, Zetale, Ziri, Zirovnica, Zuzemberk, Zrece
note: there may be 45 more municipalities |
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: 14% (male 145,016/female 137,012)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 715,629/female 704,079) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 118,298/female 191,036) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes; cattle, sheep, poultry |
Airports | 93 (2003 est.) | 14 (2004 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: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 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.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (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: 20,273 sq km
land: 20,151 sq km water: 122 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | The Slovene lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria until 1918 when the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.95 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.106 billion
expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues: $13.36 billion
expenditures: $13.99 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Damascus | Ljubljana |
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 | Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east |
Coastline | 193 km | 46.6 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1973 | adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991 |
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: Republic of Slovenia
conventional short form: Slovenia local long form: Republika Slovenija local short form: Slovenija former: People's Republic of Slovenia, Socialist Republic of Slovenia |
Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | - |
Death rate | 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.55 billion (2003 est.) | $14.65 billion (2004 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas B. ROBERTSON
embassy: Presernova 31, 1000 Ljubljana mailing address: American Embassy Ljubljana, Department of State, 7140 Ljubljana Place, Washington, DC 20521-7140 telephone: [386] (1) 200-5500 FAX: [386] (1) 200-5555 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ZBOGAR
chancery: 1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 667-5363 FAX: [1] (202) 667-4563 consulate(s) general: New York and Cleveland |
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 | the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and in dispute; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovenia must implement the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia |
Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | ODA, $62 million (2000 est.) |
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. | Slovenia, with its historical ties to Western Europe, enjoys a GDP per capita substantially higher than that of the other transitioning economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank. Privatization of the economy proceeded at an accelerated pace in 2002-04. Despite lackluster performance in Europe in 2001-04, Slovenia maintained moderate growth. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and have helped to lower unemployment. Further measures to curb inflation are still needed. Corruption and the high degree of coordination between government, business, and central bank policy were issues of concern in the run-up to Slovenia's 1 May 2004 accession to the European Union. In mid-2004 Slovenia agreed to adopt the euro by 2007 and, therefore, must keep its debt levels, budget deficits, interest rates, and inflation levels within the EU's Maastrict criteria. |
Electricity - consumption | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) | 11.8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 7.448 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 5.194 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) | 12.49 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Triglav 2,864 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial waste; pollution of coastal waters with heavy metals and toxic chemicals; forest damage near Koper from air pollution (originating at metallurgical and chemical plants) and resulting acid rain |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12% (2002 census) |
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) | tolars per US dollar - 192.38 (2004), 207.11 (2003), 240.25 (2002), 242.75 (2001), 222.66 (2000) |
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: President Janez DRNOVSEK (since 22 December 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Janez JANSA (since 9 November 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 10 November and 1 December 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2007); following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually nominated to become prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly; election last held 9 November 2004 (next National Assembly elections to be held October 2008) election results: Janez DRNOVSEK elected president; percent of vote - Janez DRNOVSEK 56.5%, Barbara BREZIGAR 43.5%; Janez JANSA elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - 57 to 27 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food |
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) | Germany 18.3%, Italy 11.6%, Austria 11.5%, France 7.4%, Croatia 7.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and above it are three six-pointed stars arranged in an inverted triangle, which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries); the seal is located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 36% services: 60% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,600 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2003 est.) | 3.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 46 07 N, 14 49 E |
Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | despite its small size, this eastern Alpine country controls some of Europe's major transit routes |
Heliports | 7 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
total: 20,250 km
paved: 20,250 km (including 456 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 23% (1998) |
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 | minor transit point for cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe, and for precursor chemicals |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, food |
Imports - partners | Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003) | Germany 19.9%, Italy 17%, Austria 14.9%, France 10.2% (2004) |
Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.9% (2004 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | ferrous metallurgy and aluminum products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics (including military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools |
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: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
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 | Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 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 | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the Judicial Council); Constitutional Court (judges elected for nine-year terms by the National Assembly and nominated by the president) |
Labor force | 4.97 million (2003 est.) | 870,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, industry, services NA | agriculture 6%, industry 40%, services 55% (2002) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total: 1,334 km
border countries: Austria 330 km, Croatia 670 km, Italy 232 km, Hungary 102 km |
Land use | arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
arable land: 8.6%
permanent crops: 1.49% other: 89.91% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
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 consisting of a National Assembly or Drzavni Zbor (90 seats; 40 are directly elected and 50 are selected on a proportional basis; note - the numbers of directly elected and proportionally elected seats varies with each election; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the National Council or Drzavni Svet (this is primarily an advisory body organized on corporatist principles with limited legislative powers; it may propose laws, ask to review any National Assembly decisions, and call national referenda; members are indirectly elected to five-year terms by an electoral college)
elections: National Assembly - last held 3 October 2004 (next to be held October 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - SDS 29.1%, LDS 22.8%, ZLSD 10.2%, NSi 9%, SLS 6.8%, SNS 6.3%, DeSUS 4.1%, other 11.7%; seats by party - SDS 29, LDS 23, ZLSD 10, NSi 9, SLS 7, SNS 6, DeSUS 4, Hungarian and Italian minorities 1 each |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.71 years
male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.14 years
male: 72.42 years female: 80.1 years (2005 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: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Central Europe, eastern Alps bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
NA |
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.) |
registered in other countries: 23 |
Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force | Slovenian Army (includes Air and Naval Forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $370 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY00) | 1.7% (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) | Independence Day/Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun: Slovene(s)
adjective: Slovenian |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | flooding and earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium, silver, hydropower, forests |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) | gas 2,526 km; oil 11 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] | Democratic Party of Retired (Persons) of Slovenia or DeSUS [Anton ROUS]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Anton ROP]; New Slovenia or NSi [Andrej BAJUK]; Slovene Democratic Party or SDS [Janez JANSA]; Slovene National Party or SNS [Zmago JELINCIC]; Slovene People's Party or SLS [Janez PODOBNIK]; Slovene Youth Party or SMS [Darko KRANJC]; United List of Social Democrats or ZLSD [Borut PAHOR] |
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.) |
2,011,070 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20% (2003 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | -0.03% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Koper |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 17, FM 160, 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) |
total: 1,201 km
standard gauge: 1,201 km 1.435-m gauge (499 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Catholic 57.8%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 2.4%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1% (2002 census) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: 100% digital (2000) international: country code - 386 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,099,300 (2002) | 812,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400,000 (2002) | 1,739,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 48 (2001) |
Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east |
Total fertility rate | 3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.24 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) | - |