Compare Syria (2008) - Malaysia (2003)

Compare Syria (2008) z Malaysia (2003)

	Syria (2008)	Malaysia (2003)

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	13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Putrajaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan* note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is within the federal territory of Wilayah Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable;
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: 33.7% (male 4,001,507; female 3,777,896) 15-64 years: 61.9% (male 7,163,252; female 7,131,745) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 447,230; female 571,310) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper; timber
Airports	90 (2007)	114 (2002)
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: 35 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (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: 79 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 72 (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: 329,750 sq km land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than North Dakota	slightly larger than New Mexico
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.	Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a federation of the former British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the federation in 1965.
Birth rate	27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	23.7 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $8.45 billion expenditures: $10.38 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $20.3 billion expenditures: $27.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (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	Kuala Lumpur
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; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Coastline	193 km	4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Constitution	13 March 1973	31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963
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: none conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia
Currency	-	ringgit (MYR)
Death rate	4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$6.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$47.5 billion (2002 est.)
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 Marie T. HUHTALA embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152 telephone: [60] (3) 2168-5000 FAX: [60] (3) 2142-2207
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 GHAZZALI bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid chancery: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 572-9700 FAX: [1] (202) 572-9882 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
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	involved in complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation on Johor, maritime boundaries, and Singapore-occupied Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia; a small section of the Malaysia-Thailand boundary in the Kolok River remains in dispute
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.	Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics - and, as a result Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the Information Technology (IT) sector in 2001. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in 2002. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and relatively small external debt make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a crisis similar to the one in 1997, but the economy remains vulnerable to a more protracted slowdown in Japan and the US, top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment.
Electricity - consumption	34 billion kWh (2007 est.)	63.48 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007)	75 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	34.94 billion kWh (2007 est.)	68.34 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 89.5% hydro: 10.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water	air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups	Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%	Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000)
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,	ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000), 3.8 (1999), 3.92 (1998)
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: Paramount Ruler Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis (since 12 December 2001) head of government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October 2003); Deputy Prime Minister NA (since 31 October 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler elections: paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms; election last held 12 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins a plurality of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister election results: Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail elected paramount ruler
Exports	150,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat	electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals (2000)
Exports - partners	Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.1%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2006)	US 21%, Singapore 17.4%, Japan 10.9%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 5%, Thailand 4% (2002)
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	14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $198.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 24.6% industry: 24.4% services: 51% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 12% industry: 40% services: 48% (2001)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.5% (2007 est.)	4.1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 38 00 E	2 30 N, 112 30 E
Geography - note	there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)	strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea
Heliports	7 (2007)	1 (2002)
Highways	-	total: 65,877 km paved: 49,935 km (including 1,192 km of expressways) unpaved: 15,942 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 38.4% (1997 est.)
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	transit point for some illicit drugs; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties
Imports	160,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper	electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals (2000)
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)	Japan 16.9%, Singapore 15.9%, US 15.5%, China 7.3%, South Korea 5%, Taiwan 4.7% (2002)
Independence	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)	31 August 1957 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.4% (2007 est.)	5% (2002 est.)
Industries	petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
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: 19 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2007 est.)	1.9% (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	APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	7 (2000)
Irrigated land	13,330 sq km (2003)	3,650 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 Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister)
Labor force	5.457 million (2007 est.)	9.9 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 26% industry: 14% services: 60% (2003 est.)	local trade and tourism 28%, manufacturing 27%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 16%, services 10%, government 10%, construction 9% (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	total: 2,669 km border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km
Land use	arable land: 24.8% permanent crops: 4.47% other: 70.73% (2005)	arable land: 5.54% permanent crops: 17.61% other: 76.85% (1998 est.)
Languages	Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood	Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan
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 English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; 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 Parlimen consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (193 seats; members elected by popular vote weighted toward the rural Malay population to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 29 November 1999 (next must be held by November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - BN 56%, other 44%; seats by party - BN 148, PAS 27, DAP 10, Keadilan 5, PBS 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.61 years male: 69.27 years female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71.67 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.51 years (2003 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: 88.9% male: 92.4% female: 85.4% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey	Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Map references	Middle East	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm	continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea 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: 366 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,111,476 GRT/7,242,323 DWT ships by type: bulk 62, cargo 103, chemical tanker 37, container 69, liquefied gas 23, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 55, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 8 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 15, Indonesia 3, Japan 4, Monaco 1, Philippines 2, Singapore 78, South Korea 2, Vietnam 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)	Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Field Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$1.69 billion (FY00 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.9% (2005 est.)	2.03% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 6,067,155 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 3,672,517 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	21 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 218,216 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)	Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)
Nationality	noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian	noun: Malaysian(s) adjective: Malaysian
Natural hazards	dust storms, sandstorms	flooding, landslides, forest fires
Natural resources	petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower	tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2003 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,794 km; oil 2,000 km (2007)	condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined products 114 km (2003)
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]	ruling coalition parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [LIM Kheng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat]; Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [LING Ong Ka Ting]; Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Leo MOGGIE]; Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [WONG Soon Kah]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [leader NA]; opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KERK Kim Hock]; Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang]; National Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Nasional) or Keadilan [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismael]; National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN (the ruling coalition dominated by the UMNO and includes MCA, MIC, PGRM, PBDS, SUPP, PBB, PBS, LDP, SAPP, UPKO) [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]
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)	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.)	23,092,940 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	11.9% (2006 est.)	8% (1998 est.)
Population growth rate	2.244% (2007 est.)	1.86% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, George Town (Penang), Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong, Tawau
Radio broadcast stations	AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001)
Railways	total: 2,711 km standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)	total: 2,418 km standard gauge: 57 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,361 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2002)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)	Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
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 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal
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: modern system; international service excellent domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations international: submarine cables to India, Hong Kong, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.243 million (2006)	4.6 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.675 million (2006)	5 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations	44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)	1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west	coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Total fertility rate	3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	10% (2007 est.)	3.8% (2002 est.)
Waterways	900 km (not economically significant) (2005)	7,296 km note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km

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