Syria

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
  - Temperature and precipitation
  - The winds
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic and linguistic groups
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Traditional regions
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early history
- Hellenistic and Roman periods
  - The Hellenistic Age
  - Roman provincial organization
  - Economy and culture
  - Byzantine Syria
- Medieval period
  - Islamic conquest
  - The Umayyads
  - The ʿAbbāsids
  - From the 9th to the 12th century
  - The Ayyūbids and Mamlūks
- Ottoman period
  - Ottoman government, 16th–17th centuries
  - Decline of Ottoman authority
  - Egyptian domination
  - Ottoman rule restored
  - World War I
- The French mandate
- World War II and independence
- Early years of independence
  - The colonels
  - The union with Egypt, 1958–61
  - The “secessionist” regime, 1961–63
- Baʿathist Syria after 1963
  - Emergence and fracture of the Syrian Baʿath
  - Ideology and foreign policy to 1990
  - Foreign engagement and domestic change since 1990
    - Foreign policy
    - Domestic challenges
    - Uprising and civil war
      Spread of ISIL into eastern Syria and international involvement in the war
      Turning point in the war

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Damascus: Umayyad Mosque

physical features of Syria

Tigris and Euphrates river basin

Syria: Ethnic composition

Syria: Religious affiliation

Aleppo, Syria: Great Umayyad Mosque

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Syria: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Sūrīyah • Syrian Arab Republic • Al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Sūriyyah
Head Of State And Government	President: Bashar al-Assad, assisted by Prime Minister: Hussein Arnous
Capital	Damascus
Population	(2024 est.) 23,434,000²
Form Of Government	unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (People’s Assembly [250])
Official Language	Arabic
Official Religion	none¹
Official Name	Al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Sūriyyah (Syrian Arab Republic)
Total Area (Sq Km)	185,180
Total Area (Sq Mi)	71,498
Monetary Unit	Syrian pound (S.P)
Population Rank	(2023) 53
Population Projection 2030	28,647,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2023) 395.1
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2023) 152.5
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2020) 55.5% • Rural: (2020) 44.5%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2022) 72.8 years • Female: (2022) 75.8 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2014) 92% • Female: (2014) 81%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2020) 15,825
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2020) 760
¹Islam is required to be the religion of the head of state and is the basis of the legal system.²The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, as of November 2017, more than 5.3 million Syrian refugees had left the country as a result of the Syrian Civil War.

Photos and Videos

Damascus: Umayyad Mosque

physical features of Syria

Tigris and Euphrates river basin

Aleppo, Syria: Great Umayyad Mosque

Syria: ancient city of Bostra

Explore the imposing ancient citadel of Aleppo and observe the damage wrought to it by the Syrian Civil War

National anthem of Syria

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

Mamluk Seljuq Zangid dynasty Ḥamdānid Dynasty Ṭūlūnid Dynasty Ikhshīdids Dynasty Arab-Israeli wars Persian Gulf War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

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Quiz

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