Compare Syria (2007) - Guam (2002)

Compare Syria (2007) z Guam (2002)

	Syria (2007)	Guam (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	none (territory of the US)
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: 35.1% (male 29,706; female 26,813) 15-64 years: 58.6% (male 49,457; female 44,697) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 5,070; female 5,053) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk	fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef
Airports	90 (2007)	5 (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: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 1 1 under 914 m: 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: 549 sq km land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than North Dakota	three times the size of Washington, DC
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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005.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.	Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific.
Birth rate	27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	24.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $7.635 billion expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $420 million expenditures: $431 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 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	Hagatna (Agana)
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 marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation
Coastline	193 km	125.5 km
Constitution	13 March 1973	Organic Act of 1 August 1950
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: Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan
Currency	-	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.)	$NA
Dependency status	-	organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior
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	none (territory of the US)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548	none (territory of the US)
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 - recipient	$77.85 million (2005 est.)	Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam
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.	The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing.
Electricity - consumption	24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.)	767.25 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.)	825 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% 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: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water	extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species
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	-
Ethnic groups	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%	Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27%
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,	the US dollar is used
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6%
Exports	175,000 bbl/day (2006)	$75.7 million f.o.b. (1999 est.)
Exports - commodities	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat	mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products
Exports - partners	Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.2%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)	US 25%
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	territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 24.8% industry: 25.1% services: 50.1% (2005 est.)	agriculture: NA% industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% (1993)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)	NA%
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 38 00 E	13 28 N, 144 47 E
Geography - note	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)	largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean
Heliports	7 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 885 km paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	$203 million f.o.b. (1999 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 and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
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)	US 23%, Japan 19%
Independence	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)	none (territory of the US)
Industrial production growth rate	1.5% (2005)	NA%
Industries	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing	US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, 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.)	6.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	10% (2006 est.)	0% (1999 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	ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	20 (2000)
Irrigated land	13,330 sq km (2003)	NA sq km
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 District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor)
Labor force	5.276 million (2006 est.)	60,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 26% industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.)	federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 24.8% permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005)	arable land: 10.91% permanent crops: 10.91% other: 78.18% (1998 est.)
Languages	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood	English, Chamorro, Japanese
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	modeled on US; US federal laws apply
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	unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 5 November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.61 years male: 69.27 years female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)	total population: 78.11 years male: 75.81 years female: 80.72 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% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey	Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Map references	Middle East	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm	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)	none (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the US
Military branches	Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.9% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)	Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521)
Nationality	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian	noun: Guamanian(s) adjective: Guamanian
Natural hazards	dust storms, sandstorms	frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December)
Natural resources	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower	fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan)
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006)	-
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]	Democratic Party (party of Governor GUTIERREZ) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA]
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)	NA
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.)	160,796 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	11.9% (2006 est.)	23% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	2.244% (2007 est.)	1.99% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Apra Harbor
Radio broadcast stations	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	-	221,000 (1997)
Railways	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)	0 km
Religions	Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)	Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.)
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: 1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections
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: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.243 million (2006)	84,134 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.675 million (2006)	55,000 (1998)
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)	5 (1997)
Terrain	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west	volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south
Total fertility rate	3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.73 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	12.5% (2005 est.)	15% (2000 est.)
Waterways	900 km (not economically significant) (2005)	none

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