Syria (2005) | Cambodia (2002) | |
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 | 20 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural); Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb*, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pailin*, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu* (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.7% (male 2,646,883; female 2,550,015)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 3,373,692; female 3,758,736) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 182,149; female 263,849) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 92 (2004 est.) | 20 (2001) |
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: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 16 15
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 2 1 (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: 181,040 sq km
land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
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. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces. |
Birth rate | 28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 32.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.58 billion
expenditures: $9.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.67 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $363 million
expenditures: $532 million, including capital expenditures of $225 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Damascus | Phnom Penh |
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, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 193 km | 443 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1973 | promulgated 21 September 1993 |
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 Cambodia
conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Kampuchea Republic |
Currency | - | riel (KHR) |
Death rate | 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4 billion (excludes military debt and debt to Russia) (2004 est.) | $829 million (1999 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 Charles Aaron RAY
embassy: 16, Street 228 (between streets 51 and 63), Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437 |
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 ROLAND ENG
chancery: 4500 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
Disputes - international | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and intelligence personel stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan | demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion; accuses Thailand of moving or destroying boundary markers and encroachment, of not respecting its claims, and of sealing off access to the Preah Vihear temple ruin awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962; accuses Vietnam of territorial encroachments and initiating armed border incidents in seven provinces, despite substantial demarcation efforts to date; disputes several offshore islands with Vietnam, which prevents delimitation of a maritime boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $180 million (2002 est.) | $548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors |
Economy - overview | Real GDP growth rose to 2.3 percent in 2004, a slight increase from 2003 when the predominantly statist economy suffered from disruptions caused by the war in Iraq and other developments in the region. Annual real GDP growth has averaged 2.3 percent for the last seven years. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the last few years, including cutting interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports and pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-98 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and growth resumed at 5%. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach 5.5%, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the year is estimated at only 4%. In 2001, severe floods damaged an estimated 15% of the area devoted to rice. Tourism now is Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000 and up another 40% in 2001 before the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 24.32 billion kWh (2002) | 122.76 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 26.15 billion kWh (2002) | 132 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 62%
hydro: 38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998 |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - (official rate): 11.225 (2004), 11.225 (2003), 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), (parallel market rate in Amman and Beirut) NA (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002), 50.4 (2002), 49.4 (2000) | riels per US dollar - 3,895.0 (January 2002), 3,918.5 (2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4 (1998), 2,946.3 (1997) |
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 Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 30 November 1998) and Deputy Prime Ministers SAR KHENG (since NA) and TOL LAH (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; following legislative elections, a member of the majority party or majority coalition is named prime minister by the Chairman of the National Assembly and apppointed by the king |
Exports | 285,000 bbl/day (2004) | $1.05 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat | timber, garments, rubber, rice, fish |
Exports - partners | Italy 22.7%, France 18%, Turkey 12.9%, Iraq 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2004) | US 46.4%, Vietnam 26.1%, Germany 5.6%, Singapore 5.0%, UK 3.9% (2000) |
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $18.7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 31% services: 44% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 50%
industry: 15% services: 35% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 5.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 13 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
Heliports | 7 (2004 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total: 45,697 km
paved: 6,489 km (including 1,001 km of expressways) unpaved: 39,208 km (2002) |
total: 35,769 km
paved: 4,165 km unpaved: 31,604 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 34% (1997) |
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 | narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders |
Imports | NA | $1.4 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 | petroleum products, cigarettes, gold, construction materials, machinery, motor vehicles |
Imports - partners | Turkey 9.4%, Ukraine 8.7%, China 7.8%, Russia 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2004) | Singapore 22.5%, Thailand 19.8%, Hong Kong 15.6%, China 4.9%, Vietnam 4.9% (2000) |
Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 9 November 1953 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (2004 est.) | 1.6% (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 | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,700 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 Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority |
Labor force | 5.12 million (2004 est.) | 6 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 27%, services 43% (2002 est.) | agriculture 80% (2001 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: 2,572 km
border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
Land use | arable land: 25.22%
permanent crops: 4.43% other: 70.35% (2001) |
arable land: 20.96%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 78.43% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law in recent years |
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 consists of the National Assembly (122 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA July 2003); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 41%, FUNCINPEC 32%, SRP 14%, other 13%; seats by party - CPP 64, FUNCINPEC 43, SRP 15; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.75 years female: 71.38 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 57.1 years
male: 54.81 years female: 59.5 years (2002 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: 35% male: 48% female: 22% (1990 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 41 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 120 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 446,981 GRT/636,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 105, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Egypt 1, Greece 1, Jordan 2, Lebanon 7, Romania 1) registered in other countries: 73 (2005) |
total: 404 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,889,404 GRT/2,740,232 DWT
ships by type: bulk 37, cargo 312, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 5, container 7, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Aruba 1, Belize 8, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 3, China 21, Cyprus 15, Denmark 1, Egypt 7, Estonia 1, Georgia 1, Germany 1, Greece 12, Honduras 5, Hong Kong 12, Iceland 1, Indonesia 2, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Italy 1, Japan 5, Jordan 1, Latvia 2, Lebanon 5, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Panama 7, Romania 4, Russia 67, Saint Kitts and Nevis 10, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4, Singapore 15, South Korea 24, Syria 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 22, Ukraine 13, United Arab Emirates 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vietnam 2, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Command), Police and Security Force | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF): Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $112 million (FY01 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY00) | 3% (FY01 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,990,790 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,673,713 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 162,643 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) |
Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun: Cambodian(s)
adjective: Cambodian |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Ahmed al-AHMED]; 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 Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yuusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] | Buddhist Liberal Party or BLP [IENG MOULY]; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party or CPP [CHEA SIM]; Khmer Citizen Party or KCP [NGUON SOEUR]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP (formerly Khmer Nation Party or KNP) [SAM RANGSI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Kurdish Democratic Front [leader NA]; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in London) [Ali Badr Eddine al-BAYANOUNI]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZIM] | NA |
Population | 18,448,752
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 2005 est.) |
12,775,324
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20% (2004 est.) | 36% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.34% (2005 est.) | 2.24% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Latakia | Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 7, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.34 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,711 km
standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2004) |
total: 603 km
narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge (2001 est.) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 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 |
general assessment: adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; rural areas have little telephone service
domestic: NA international: adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,099,300 (2002) | 21,800 (mid-1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 400,000 (2002) | 80,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 5 (1999) |
Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
Total fertility rate | 3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.66 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2002 est.) | 2.8% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 900 km (not economically significant) (2002) | 3,700 km
note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m |