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. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.

• 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

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

• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• desertification;
• water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes;
• inadequate 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:

38.6% (male 3,494,473; female 3,290,699)

15-64 years:

58.2% (male 5,238,026; female 4,991,588)

65 years and over:

3.2% (male 274,744; female 296,010) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.93 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2003 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 short form:

Suriyah

former:

United Arab Republic (with Egypt)

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah

• 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 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 Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003), 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%

• 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 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]

• 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 (acting) Imad MUSTAFA

chancery:

2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-9548

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-6313

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

• 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%

general assessment:

fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology

domestic:

coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network

international:

• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region);
• 1 submarine cable;
• coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey;
• participant in Medarabtel

total:

2,743 km

standard gauge:

2,425 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002)

total:

43,381 km

paved:

10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways)

unpaved:

33,360 km (1999)

total:

129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 450,135 GRT/645,296 DWT

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.)

ships by type:

bulk 13, cargo 109, container 2, livestock carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1

• Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied;
• Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights;
• Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976;
• Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters;
• Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province