Syria
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Name: The Syrian Arab Republic Introduction: In the ancient times Syria was part of Phoenecian kingdom and later it became part of Greek and Roman empires. In the seventh century AD Arabs conquered Syria, and then from 1516 to 1916 it was under the control of Ottoman Turks. In the later years it was ruled by France till 1941, but it remained a French Mandate till it attained complete independence in 1946. It has been involved with various wars; with Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and with Lebanese civil war from 1976. Location: At the Eastern end of Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia. Borders: Turkey in north, Iraq in east, Jordan in south, Palestine and Israel in southwest and Lebanon in west. Terrain: It has narrow coastal plains and mountains just behind it. In the Northeast Al Jazira and in South Hawran are important agricultural areas. Inland area is a broad plateau, which is a desert. The plains receive rainfall up to 40 inches; rest of the country is dry. Climate: The climate is dry with hot sunny summers and mild winters, sometimes snowfall occur during winters. Ethnic Group: Most of the Syrians are Arabs and make up over 85% of the population. Other ethnic minorities include Kurds (mainly Kurdish speaking people), Assyrian, Christians and Armenians. Religion: About 90% of the Syrian population follows Muslim religion (among them 70% are Sunni Muslims) and 10% are Christians. Area: 183,885 sq km Capital: Damascus Currency: Syrian Pound (SYP) Nationality: Syrian Population: 19,043,000 (July 2005 est) Population Growth Rate: 2.45% (2005 est) Largest City: Aleppo Life Expectancy: 68.47 years – male and 71.02 years – female Language: Arabic is the official language. Kurdish is widely spoken in Kurdish region. English and French are also widely understood and spoken. Literacy: Male – 86% and female- 73.6% Internet TLD: .sy Calling Code: +963 Independence: From France in 1941, but recognised on April 17, 1946. Government: Presidential Republic Constitution: March 13, 1973 Suffrage: universal at 18 Executive Branch: President, two Vice presidents, Prime minister and Council of Ministers (Cabinet). Legislative Branch: Unicameral Peoples Council Judicial Branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, High judicial Council, Court of Cassation and State Security Courts. National Anthem: Homat el Diyar (Guardians of the Homeland) National Flag: It was readopted in 1980, is the flag of former United Arab Republic. There are three bands of red (top) white and black (bottom) with two green stars on the white band. The stars represent the Syria and Egypt, the two participating nations in the United Arab Republic. Coat of Arm: It has a Syrian Hawk or Hawk of Qureish. Economy: Syria is a developing country and its economy is based on agriculture, industry and energy. Progress is very slow due to poor performance in public sector, low investment levels and low industrial and agricultural productivity. Mineral resources include oil, natural gas and phosphate. GDP: $ 27.3 billion (2005 est) Exports: Cotton, crude oil, refined products, clothing, fruits and cereal grains. Imports: Raw material essential for industry, agriculture equipments and machinery, metal products, food stuff, textiles and petroleum. |