Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Arab Republic, a South-west Asian nation, is bordered by Lebanon, the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. Damascus is the capital of Syria.

HISTORY:- Egypt conquered the ancient Syria around 1500 BC. Hebrews, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, and Persians invaded and occupied Syria successively. To the Ancient Macedonia, the region came under Roman Empire from 64 B.C to 636 AD. In 1260, the Mongols invaded the land. The Ottoman Turks incorporated the nation into the Turkish provinces in 1516 until the World War I. After the World War, The League of Nations imposed French mandate over Syria. Under the mandate, Syria became a republic in 1930. In 1940 after the fall of France, Syria came under the Vichy Government and remained until 1941, when the British and Free French annexed Syria in 1941. Syrian nationalists pressurized the French troops to evacuate in 1946. United Arab Republic was formed with the amalgamation of Egypt and Syria. After a military coup, Syria declared independence in 1961. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, the leader of the Socialist Ba'th Party took over the presidency in the bloodless coup. Hafez al-Assad was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad in 2000.

GEOGRAPHY:- Syria is located at 35 00 N, 38 00 E in Middle East. The country has captured total 185,180 sq km area in which 184,050 sq km and 1,130 sq km areas are captured by land and water portions respectively. The coastline is 193 km long along with the Mediterranean Sea. The lowest point is an unnamed location near Lake Tiberias (-200 m) whist the highest point is Mount Hermon (2,814 m). Syria is composed of narrow coastal plains with a double mountain belt in the west and large, semiarid and desert plateau in the east.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Syria is predominantly desert, hot, and dry, with sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along the coasts. Periodical cold weather with snow or sleet can be seen in Damascus.

GOVERNMENT:-Syria is a republic under an authoritarian military regime. The constitution was adopted on 13th March 1973. The legal system is a blend of the French and the Ottoman civil law, while the Islamic law is used in the family court system. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime Minister (head of government), the Vice Presidents, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and the Council of Ministers. The president is approved by the popular referendum on a 7-year term. The vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers are appointed by the president. The council of ministers is also appointed by the president.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral People's Council (250 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Constitutional Court, the High Judicial Council, the Court of Cassation, and the State Security Courts.

Principal political parties of Syria include Arab Socialist Resurrection (Ba'ath) Party, Syrian Arab Socialist Party, Arab Socialist Union, Syrian Communist Party, Arab Socialist Unionist Movement, and Democratic Socialist Union Party. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President             Bashar Al-Asad

Vice President      Farouk al-Shar'a

Vice President      Najah al-Attar

Prime Minister      Muhammad Naji al-Utri

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:-Syria is divided into 14 provinces: Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, and Tartus.

CULTURE:- Syria was one-time famous for handicrafts. Syrian cuisine has been influenced by Southern Mediterranean, Greek, Turkish, French, and South-west Asian dishes. Many Syrians contributed much to the Arabic literature.

ECONOMY:- Syrian middle-income and developing economy rests on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism. It is a government-controlled economy and the present president signed legislative decrees to increase corporate ownership reforms allowing the Central Bank to issue Treasury bills and bonds for government debt.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $87.09 billion; per capita $4,500.

Real growth rate: 3.9%.

Inflation: 7%.

Unemployment: 9%.

Arable land: 25%.

Agriculture: Wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk.

Labor force: 5.462 million (2007 est.); agriculture 23.6%, industry 27.5%, services 48.9% (2007 est.).

Industries: Petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining.

Natural resources: Petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower.

Budget:  

Revenues: $8.848 billion

Expenditures: $11.21 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 37.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $6.465 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Exports: $6.344 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat.

Imports: $5.973 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper.

Major trading partners: Italy, France, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, Russia, U.S., South Korea (2004).

Monetary unit: Syrian pound

LANGUAGE:- Arabic is the official language of Syria but Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian are widely understood. French and English are also understood.

CITIES:- Damascus is the capital and the largest city of Syria. Other large cities are Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Idleb, al-Hasakeh, Dayr al-Zur, Latakia, Dar'a, al-Raqqa, and Tartous.

POPULATION:- The population is estimated 19,314,747 with a growth rate of 2.2%.

Density per sq mi: 272

Literacy rate: 73.6% (2004 est.)

RACE:-

Arab 90.3%

Kurds

Armenians and other 9.7%

RELIGION:-

Sunni Muslim 74%

Other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%

Christian (various denominations) 10%

And Jewish belief in small communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo.

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 26.57 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 4.68 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 26.78 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.9 years

Total fertility rate: 3.21 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 110

UNICEF:- Primary schooling is free and compulsory in Syria but some issues like quality of education, Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) and school dropouts especially girls should be treated with more care. UNICEF fights against other social issues like child labour, children of divorced parents, abandoned children, orphans, disabled children, conflict-affected children, children victims of abuse and violence, women rights and discrimination of girls.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 2,743 km (2002).

Highways: total: 43,381 km; paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways); unpaved: 33,360 km (1999).

Waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance.

Ports and harbors: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus.

Airports: 92 (2002).