Syria (2004) | Thailand (2001) | |
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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 | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon |
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:
23.43% (male 7,380,273; female 7,099,506) 15-64 years: 69.95% (male 21,304,051; female 21,921,383) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 1,796,325; female 2,296,213) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans |
Airports | 93 (2003 est.) | 110 (2000 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:
59 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 4 (2000 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:
51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 34 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
total:
514,000 sq km land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century; it was known as Siam until 1939. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. |
Birth rate | 28.93 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.63 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.106 billion
expenditures: $7.397 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$19 billion expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Damascus | Bangkok |
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; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid |
Coastline | 193 km | 3,219 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1973 | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 |
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:
Kingdom of Thailand conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | baht (THB) |
Death rate | 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.55 billion (2003 est.) | $90 billion (2000 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 Richard E. HECKLINGER embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-1171 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
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 TEJ Bunnag chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | parts of the border with Laos are indefinite; parts of border with Cambodia are indefinite; sporadic border hostilities with Burma over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region |
Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $131.5 million (1998 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. | After enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995 - averaging almost 9% annually - increased speculative pressure on Thailand's currency in 1997 led to a crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the government to float the baht. Long pegged at 25 to the dollar, the baht reached its lowest point of 56 to the dollar in January 1998 and the economy contracted by 10.2% that same year. Thailand entered a recovery stage in 1999, expanding 4.2% and grew about the same amount in 2000, largely due to strong exports - which increased about 20% in 2000. An ailing financial sector and the slow pace of corporate debt restructuring, combined with a softening of global demand, is likely to slow growth in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 21.63 billion kWh (2001) | 83.991 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 23.26 billion kWh (2001) | 89.431 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
91.17% hydro: 3.81% nuclear: 0% other: 5.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting |
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:
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
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) | baht per US dollar - 43.078 (January 2001), 40.112 (2000), 37.814 (1999), 41.359 (1998), 31.364 (1997), 25.343 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003) 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:
King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946) head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following a national election for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | $68.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat | computers and parts, textiles, integrated circuits, rice |
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) | US 22%, Japan 14%, Singapore 9%, Hong Kong 5%, Netherlands 4%, Malaysia 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 42.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 40% services: 47% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2003 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
Heliports | 7 (2003 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 43,381 km
paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,360 km (1999) |
total:
64,600 km paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
2.5% highest 10%: 37.1% (1992) |
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 | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine |
Imports | NA (2001) | $61.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | Germany 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, China 6.3%, France 5.9%, Turkey 5.4% (2003) | Japan 26%, US 14%, Singapore 6%, China 5%, Malaysia 5%, Taiwan 5% (1999) |
Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | tourism; textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing, such as jewelry; electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer |
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.) |
30.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 2.1% (2000 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 | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 15 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 44,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 4.97 million (2003 est.) | 32.6 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, industry, services NA | agriculture 54%, industry 15%, services 31% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total:
4,863 km border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
Land use | arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 26% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; 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 National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); House of Representatives - last held 6 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TRT 248, DP 128, TNP 41, NAP 36, NDP 29, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.71 years
male: 68.47 years female: 71.02 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
68.86 years male: 65.64 years female: 72.24 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 89.7% female: 64% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.8% male: 96% female: 91.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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.) |
total:
294 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,845,972 GRT/2,923,914 DWT ships by type: bulk 36, cargo 133, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 14, liquefied gas 20, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 61, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (including Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force, Paramilitary Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $1.775 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY00) | 1.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,876,040 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
17,717,268 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,716,054 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
10,646,818 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 216,077 (2004 est.) | males:
567,659 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) |
Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun:
Thai (singular and plural) adjective: Thai |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) | petroleum products 67 km; natural gas 350 km |
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 or DP (Prachathipat Party) [CHUAN Likphai]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP (Seri Tham) [PHINIT Charusombat]; Mass Party or MP [CHALERM Yoobamrung, SOPHON Petchsavang]; National Development Party or NDP (Chat Phattana) [KORN Dabbaransi]; New Aspiration Party or NAP (Khwamwang Mai) [Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut]; Phalang Dharma Party or PDP (Phalang Tham) [CHAIWAT Sinsuwong]; Social Action Party or SAP (Kitsangkhom Party) [leader vacant]; Solidarity Party or SP (Ekkaphap Party) [CHAIYOT Sasomsap]; Thai Citizen's Party or TCP (Prachakon Thai) [SAMAK Sunthonwet]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BANHAN Sinlapa-acha]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] |
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.) |
61,797,751
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20% (2003 est.) | 12.5% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 0.91% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 13.96 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
total:
3,940 km narrow gauge: 3,940 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
service to general public adequate, but investment in technological upgrades reduced by recession; bulk of service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and microwave radio relay network domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic satellite system being developed international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,099,300 (2002) | 5.4 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400,000 (2002) | 2.3 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | 3.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | 3.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km are navigable throughout the year by boats with drafts up to 0.9 meters; numerous minor waterways serve shallow-draft native craft |