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| National motto: None | |||||
| Official language | Arabic | ||||
| Capital | Damascus | ||||
| President | Bashar al-Assad | ||||
| Area - Total - % water |
Ranked 86th 185,180 km² 0.06% |
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| Population - Total (2002) - Density |
Ranked 55th 17,585,540 93/km² |
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| Independence - Declared - Recognised |
January 1, 1944 April 17, 1946 |
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| Currency | Pound | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +2 | ||||
| National anthem | Homat el Diyar | ||||
| Internet TLD | .SY | ||||
| Calling Code | 963 | ||||
| Table of contents |
|
2 Politics 3 Provinces 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External Links |
Syria has been the cradle of some of the world's oldest civilizations, and has been part of the Hittite, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Phoenician empires, before becoming part of the (Eastern) Roman Empire.
Having been a cradle of Christianity, with the expansion of Islam in the Middle East in the 7th century, Syria became one of the centres of the new religion. After invasions by the Seljuk Turks and the Crusades, Syria came under Arab control until 1516, when it was conquered by the Ottomans.
Following the breakup of the during World War I, Syria was administered by the French, who had already proclaimed themselves as protector of the country in the 18th century. The country was liberated from the Vichy government, and independence was declared in 1944, although foreign troops remained until 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.
As of 2003, Syria is regarded by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism.
While nominally a democratic republic, Syria has been lead by a military regime since a 1963 coup by the Baath Party. This party holds a two-thirds majority in the Syrian parliament (which has 250 seats), while the remainder is occupied by independent representatives.
The head of state is president Bashar al-Assad, the son of president Hafez al-Assad, who lead the country from 1971 until his death in 2000. The president appoints a council of ministers and a prime minister, who together form the executive branch of the Syrian government.
Syria has fourteen provinces, or muhafazat:
Syria consists mostly of arid plateau, although there is a small strip with plain along the coast line with the Mediterranean. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east.
Major cities include the capital Damascus in the southwest, Aleppo in the north, and Homs. Most of the other important cities are located along the coast line.
The climate in Syria is dry and hot, although winters are mild. Because of the country's elevation, snowfall does also occur occasionally during winter.
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.
Most of the Syrian population (90%) is of Arabic ethnicity, but there are sizeable Kurdish and Armenian minorities. This is also reflected in the languages spoken; Arabic is the official language, but Kurdish and Armenian are spoken by the minorities. In addition, Circassian is also spoken.
Virtually all of the Arabs in Syria are muslims, mostly Sunni. The remainder of the Syrians are Christians, although there are tiny Jewish communities.
History
Main article: History of SyriaPolitics
Main article: Politics of SyriaProvinces
Main article: Provinces of SyriaGeography
Main article: Geography of Syria
Economy
Main article: Economy of SyriaDemographics
Main article: Demographics of SyriaCulture
Main article: Culture of SyriaMiscellaneous topics
External Links