Compare Syria (2008) - Luxembourg (2006)

Compare Syria (2008) z Luxembourg (2006)

	Syria (2008)	Luxembourg (2006)

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	3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg
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: 18.9% (male 46,118/female 43,356) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 159,498/female 156,075) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 28,027/female 41,339) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk	wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products
Airports	90 (2007)	2 (2006)
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: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
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 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
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: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than North Dakota	slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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 Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005.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.	Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.
Birth rate	27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $8.45 billion expenditures: $10.38 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $9.195 billion expenditures: $9.573 billion; including capital expenditures of $975.5 million (2005 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	name: Luxembourg geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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	modified continental with mild winters, cool summers
Coastline	193 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	13 March 1973	17 October 1868; occasional revisions
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: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg
Death rate	4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$6.61 billion (31 December 2007 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 Ann WAGNER embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01
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 Joseph WEYLAND chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: 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, $235.59 million (2004)
Economic aid - recipient	$77.85 million (2005 est.)	-
Economy - overview	The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 3.5% in real terms in 2007 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 led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Damascus has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating all of the multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange-which is set to begin operations in 2008. In October 2007, for example, Damascus raised the price of subsidized gasoline by 20%, and may institute a rationing system in 2008. In addition, President ASAD signed legislative decrees to encourage corporate ownership reform, and to allow the Central Bank to issue Treasury bills and bonds for government debt. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production, high unemployment and inflation, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.	This stable, high-income economy - benefitting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks first in the world.
Electricity - consumption	34 billion kWh (2007 est.)	6.14 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007)	2.346 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	5.287 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - production	34.94 billion kWh (2007 est.)	3.203 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m	lowest point: Moselle River 133 m highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water	air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland
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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%	Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers)
Exchange rates	Syrian pounds per US dollar - 50.0085 (2007), 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003) 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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP
Exports	150,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)	634 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat	machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass
Exports - partners	Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.1%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2006)	Germany 21%, France 16.3%, Belgium 9.2%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.5%, Spain 6.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005)
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 an Arabic inscription 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 red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 24.6% industry: 24.4% services: 51% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.5% (2007 est.)	4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 38 00 E	49 45 N, 6 10 E
Geography - note	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)	landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world
Heliports	7 (2007)	1 (2006)
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	160,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)	50,700 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper	minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods
Imports - partners	Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Germany 4.9%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Iran 4.5% (2006)	Belgium 28.2%, Germany 21.8%, China 12.8%, France 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2005)
Independence	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)	1839 (from the Netherlands)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.4% (2007 est.)	4.5% (2005 est.)
Industries	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing	banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism
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.)	total: 4.74 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2007 est.)	2.5% (2005 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	ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	13,330 sq km (2003)	NA
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)	judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch
Labor force	5.457 million (2007 est.)	316,500 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 26% industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 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: 359 km border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km
Land use	arable land: 24.8% permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005)	arable land: 23.94% permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood	Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
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	based on civil law system; accepts 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	unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.61 years male: 69.27 years female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)	total population: 78.89 years male: 75.6 years female: 82.38 years (2006 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey	Western Europe, between France and Germany
Map references	Middle East	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm	none (landlocked)
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: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 557,636 GRT/792,069 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, chemical tanker 16, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 42 (Belgium 9, Finland 4, France 14, Germany 10, Netherlands 2, US 3) (2006)
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
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$231.6 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.9% (2005 est.)	0.9% (2003)
National holiday	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)	National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June
Nationality	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian	noun: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg
Natural hazards	dust storms, sandstorms	NA
Natural resources	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower	iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,794 km; oil 2,000 km (2007)	gas 155 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]; 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]) opposition parties not legally recognized:: Arab Democratic Socialist Union Party [Hasan Abdul AZIM]; Arab Socialist Movement; Democratic Ba'th Party [Ibrahim MAHKOS]; People's Democratic Party [Riad al TURK]; Revolutionary Workers' Party [Abdul Hafeez al HAFEZ] Kurdish parties (considered illegal): Kurdish Democratic Front [Abdul Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Coordination [Abdul Hakim BASHAR] (includes Azadi Party [Kheirudin MURAD], Future Party [Masha'l TAMMO], Yekity Party [Hasam SALE]) other parties: Nahda Party [Abdul Aziz al MISLET]; Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]	Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	Damascus Declaration National Council [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups and individuals including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Communist Action Party [Fateh JAMOUS]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; Liberal Nationalists' Movement; National Democratic Front; National Democratic Rally; and 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)	ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union)
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.)	474,413 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	11.9% (2006 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.244% (2007 est.)	1.23% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)
Railways	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)	total: 274 km standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified) (2005)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)	87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000)
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: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 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: the number of fixed-line connections has increased markedly since 2000; mobile-cellular service growing rapidly and teledensity has reached 25 wireless telephones per 100 persons; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 963; submarine cable connection to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel	general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.243 million (2006)	244,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.675 million (2006)	720,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)	5 (1999)
Terrain	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west	mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast
Total fertility rate	3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	10% (2007 est.)	4.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways	900 km (not economically significant) (2005)	37 km (on Moselle River) (2003)

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