Syria

Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. Talks with Israel over the return of the Golan Heights have recently been revived.

• 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 hitting Damascus

• primarily semiarid and desert plateau;
• narrow coastal plain;
• mountains in west

• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• desertification;
• water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining;
• inadequate supplies of potable water

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification

0-14 years:

41% (male 3,410,417; female 3,210,215)

15-64 years:

56% (male 4,688,967; female 4,476,022)

65 years and over:

3% (male 254,448; female 265,590) (2000 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

noun:

Syrian(s)

adjective:

Syrian

• Arabic (official);
• Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood;
• French, English somewhat understood

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)

• 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

• based on Islamic law and civil law system;
• special religious courts;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

• President Hafiz al-ASAD (since 22 February 1971);
• note - President ASAD seized power in the November 1970 coup, assumed presidential powers 22 February 1971, and was confirmed as president in the 12 March 1971 national elections;
• 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 Mohammad Mustaf MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Dr. Salim YASIN (since NA December 1981), and Rashid AKHTARINI (since 4 July 1992)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
• referendum/election last held 8 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2006);
• vice presidents appointed by the president;
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

Hafiz al-ASAD reelected president; percent of vote - Hafiz al-ASAD 99%

• Supreme Constitutional Court, justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president;
• High Judicial Council;
• Court of Cassation;
• State Security Courts

• National Progressive Front (NPF) (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Hafiz al-ASAD];
• Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Hafiz al-ASAD, president of the republic, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front];
• Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Fayiz ISMAIL];
• Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT];
• Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD];
• Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Ghassan 'Abd-al-Aziz UTHMAN];
• Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]

• Communist party ineffective;
• conservative religious leaders;
• Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen);
• non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant)

chancery:

2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-6313

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-9548

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER

embassy:

Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus

mailing address:

P. O. Box 29, Damascus

telephone:

[963] (11) 333-2814, 333-0788, 332-0783

FAX:

[963] (11) 224-7938

• 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

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

total:

2,750 km

standard gauge:

2,423 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

327 km 1.050-m gauge (2000)

total:

36,377 km

paved:

26,299 km (including 877 km of expressways)

unpaved:

10,078 km (1999 est.)

total:

137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 429,005 GRT/626,069 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 11, cargo 120, livestock carrier 5, roll-on/roll-off 1 (1999 est.)

• Golan Heights is Israeli occupied;
• dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
• Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976