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NAVIGATION
Syrian Arab Republic
Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah
former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah |
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Government type:
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republic under military regime since March 1963 |
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Capital:
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Damascus |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
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Constitution:
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13 March 1973 |
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Legal system:
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based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
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Political parties and leaders:
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National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al ASAD], Syrian Communist Party [leader NA], Unionist Socialist Party [leader NA], Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani QANNUT], and Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Sami SUFAN]) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
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International organization participation:
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AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
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Flag description:
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three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $59.4 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.5% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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15%-25% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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0.9% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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5.2 million (2000 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture, industry, services NA (2002) |
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Unemployment rate:
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20% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.) |
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Industries:
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petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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23.26 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 57.6%
hydro: 42.4% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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21.63 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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522,700 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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265,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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2.4 billion bbl (January 2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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240.7 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
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Exports:
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$6.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.) |
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Exports - partners:
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Germany 19%, Italy 16%, France 12%, Turkey 7%, Lebanon 5%, Spain 4%, Austria 3%, Saudi Arabia 3%, Iraq (2001) |
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Imports:
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$4.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
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Imports - partners:
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Italy 8%, Germany 7%, France 6%, Lebanon 5%, South Korea 5%, Turkey 5%, China 4%, US 4%, Japan 3% (2001 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$22 billion (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$199 million (1997 est.) |
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Currency:
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Syrian pound (SYP) |
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Currency code:
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SYP |
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Exchange rates:
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Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.225 (2002), 11.225 (2001), 11.225 (2000), 11.225 (1999), 11.225 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |