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Compare Syria (2007) - Germany (2002)

Compare Syria (2007) z Germany (2002)

 Syria (2007)Germany (2002)
 SyriaGermany
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 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen
Age structure 0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435)


15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 6,568,699; female 6,227,148)


15-64 years: 67.6% (male 28,606,964; female 27,695,539)


65 years and over: 17% (male 5,546,140; female 8,607,361) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports 90 (2007) 625 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 26


over 3,047 m: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 15


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 328


over 3,047 m: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 54


1,524 to 2,437 m: 63


914 to 1,523 m: 69


under 914 m: 131 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 64


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 52 (2007)
total: 223


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 31


under 914 m: 189 (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: 357,021 sq km


land: 349,223 sq km


water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than North Dakota slightly smaller than Montana
Background Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 2002, Germany and 11 other EU countries introduced a common European currency, the euro.
Birth rate 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 8.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $7.635 billion


expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $802 billion


expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital name: Damascus


geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September
Berlin
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 temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind
Coastline 193 km 2,389 km
Constitution 13 March 1973 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990
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: Federal Republic of Germany


conventional short form: Germany


local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland


local short form: Deutschland


former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Currency - euro (EUR); deutsche mark (DEM)


note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Death rate 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.) $NA
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN


embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus


mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus


telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444


FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS


embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin


mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265


telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0


FAX: [49] (030) 238-6290


consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
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 Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER


chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140


FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan none
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient $77.85 million (2005 est.) -
Economy - overview The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 2.9% in real terms in 2006 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and exports and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Total foreign assets of the Central Bank and domestic banking system rose to about $20 billion in 2006, and the government strengthened the private sector foreign exchange rate by about 7% from the start of the year. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports, weak investment, high unemployment, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution. Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy turned in a relatively weak performance throughout much of the 1990s. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Business and income tax cuts introduced in 2001 did not spare Germany from the impact of the downturn in international trade, and domestic demand faltered as unemployment began to rise. Growth in 2002 again fell short of 1%. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures has brought the deficit close to the EU's 3% debt limit.
Electricity - consumption 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.) 501.72 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 42.5 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 44.5 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.) 537.33 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 63%


hydro: 4%


nuclear: 30%


other: 3% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m


highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish)
Exchange rates Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002)


note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,
euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997)
Executive branch chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy


head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers


election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%
chief of state: President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)


head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)


cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor


elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006)


election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote NA%
Exports 175,000 bbl/day (2006) $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.2%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006) France 11.1%, US 10.6%, UK 8.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, Austria 5.1%; Belgium 4.9%, Spain 4.5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2001) (2001)
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 black (top), red, and gold
GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.184 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 24.8%


industry: 25.1%


services: 50.1% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 1%


industry: 31%


services: 68% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2006 est.) 0.4% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 35 00 N, 38 00 E 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography - note there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.) strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Heliports 7 (2007) 40 (2002)
Highways - total: 656,140 km


paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways)


unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 4%


highest 10%: 25% (1997)
Illicit drugs a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs
Imports NA bbl/day $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Germany 4.7%, Iran 4.5% (2006) France 9.4%, Netherlands 8.4%, US 8.3%, UK 6.9%, Italy 6.5%, Belgium 5.2%, Japan 4.1%, Austria 3.8% (2001)
Independence 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
Industrial production growth rate 1.5% (2005) -2.1% (2002 est.)
Industries petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles
Infant mortality rate total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2006 est.) 1.3% (2002 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, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 200 (2001)
Irrigated land 13,330 sq km (2003) 4,850 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce) Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Labor force 5.276 million (2006 est.) 41.9 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 26%


industry: 14%


services: 60% (2003 est.)
industry 33%, agriculture 3%, services 64% (1999)
Land boundaries total: 2,253 km


border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
total: 3,621 km


border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Land use arable land: 24.8%


permanent crops: 4.47%


other: 70.73% (2005)
arable land: 33.88%


permanent crops: 0.65%


other: 65.47% (1998 est.)
Languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood German
Legal system based on a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; 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 on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (603 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)


elections: Federal Assembly - last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election


election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 70.61 years


male: 69.27 years


female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)
total population: 77.78 years


male: 74.64 years


female: 81.09 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 79.6%


male: 86%


female: 73.6% (2004 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99% (1977 est.)


male: NA%


female: NA%
Location Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Map references Middle East Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4)


registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007)
total: 388 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,758,942 GRT/7,132,525 DWT


ships by type: cargo 132, chemical tanker 10, container 219, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 7


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 1, Finland 5, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3, Switzerland 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005) Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $38.8 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.9% (2005 est.) 1.38% (2002)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 20,854,329 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 17,734,977 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 482,318 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 17 April (1946) Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Nationality noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
noun: German(s)


adjective: German
Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms flooding
Natural resources petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 3.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006) crude oil 2,240 km (2001)
Political parties and leaders legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]); illegal parties: Kurdish Azadi Party [Khayr al-Din MURAD]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [Abd al-Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Democratic Front (includes three parties but no designated leader); Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Ali MUHAMMAD]; Kurdish Future Movement; Kurdish Yekiti Party [Hasan SALEH]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZEM] Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; the Greens [leader NA]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabriele ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders Damascus Declaration [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; National Democratic Front; Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fawed FAWUZ]); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, the SMB, and other small opposition groups); Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Sadr al-Din al-BAYANUNI]; (operates in exile in London; endorsed the Damascus Declaration but is not an official member) employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
Population 19,314,747


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 2007 est.)
83,251,851 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 11.9% (2006 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.244% (2007 est.) 0.26% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors - Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios - 77.8 million (1997)
Railways total: 2,711 km


standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
total: 44,000 km (including at least 20,300 km electrified); most routes are double- or multiple-track


note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the track it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own approximately 3,000 to 4,000 km of track (2001 est.)
Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.898 male(s)/female


total population: 1.049 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 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: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part


domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries


international: Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the INMARSAT, INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INTERSPUTNIK satellite systems (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use 3.243 million (2006) 50.9 million (March 2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4.675 million (2006) 55.3 million (June 2001)
Television broadcast stations 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Total fertility rate 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 12.5% (2005 est.) 9.8% (2002 est.)
Waterways 900 km (not economically significant) (2005) 7,500 km


note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999)
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