292 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
292 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
SYRIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 185,180 km2; land area: 184,050 km2 (including 1,295
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km2 of Israeli-occupied territory)
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Comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
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Land boundaries: 2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km,
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Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
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Coastline: 193 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 6 nm beyond territorial sea limit;
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Territorial sea: 35 nm
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Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Golan
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Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey; periodic
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disputes with Iraq over Euphrates water rights; ongoing dispute over
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water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers;
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Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR
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Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August)
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and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast
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Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal
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plain; mountains in west
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Natural resources: crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese
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ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum
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Land use: arable land 28%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures
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46%; forest and woodland 3%; other 20%; includes irrigated 3%
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Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
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desertification
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Note: there are 38 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied
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Golan Heights
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PEOPLE
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Population: 12,965,996 (July 1991), growth rate 3.8% (1991);
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in addition, there are at least 12,000 Druze and 13,000 Jewish settlers
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in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (1990 est.)
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Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 37 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 71 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Syrian(s); adjective--Syrian
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Ethnic divisions: Arab 90.3%; Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
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Religion: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim
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sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, tiny Jewish communities in
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Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo
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Language: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic,
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Circassian; French widely understood
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Literacy: 64% (male 78%, female 51%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 2,400,000; miscellaneous and government services 36%,
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agriculture 32%, industry and construction 32%; majority unskilled;
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shortage of skilled labor (1984)
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Organized labor: 5% of labor force
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Syrian Arab Republic
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Type: republic; under leftwing military regime since March 1963
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Capital: Damascus
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Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat,
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singular--muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al
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Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda, Dara, Dayr az Zawr,
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Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq,
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Tartus
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Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
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French administration); formerly United Arab Republic
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Constitution: 13 March 1973
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Legal system: based on Islamic law and civil law system; special
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religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: National Day, 17 April (1946)
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Executive branch: president, three vice presidents, prime minister,
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three deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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Legislative branch: unicameral People's Council (Majlis al-Chaab)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, High Judicial
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Council, Court of Cassation, State Security Courts
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Hafiz al-ASAD (since 22 February
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1971); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, Rifat al-ASAD, and
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Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Mahmud ZUBI (since 1 November
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1987);
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Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984);
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Deputy Prime Minister Salim YASIN (since NA December 1981);
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Deputy Prime Minister Mahmud QADDUR (since NA May 1985)
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Political parties and leaders: ruling party is the Arab Socialist
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Resurrectionist (Bath) Party;
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the Progressive National Front is dominated by Bathists but includes
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independents and members of the Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP),
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Arab Socialist Union (ASU),
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Syrian Communist Party (SCP),
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Arab Socialist Unionist Movement, and
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Democratic Socialist Union Party
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held 10-11 February 1985 (next to be held February
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1992);
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results--President Hafiz al-ASAD was reelected without opposition;
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People's Council--last held 22-23 May 1990 (next to be
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held May 1994);
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results--Bath 53.6%, ASU 3.2%, SCP 3.2%, Arab Socialist Unionist
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Movement 2.8%, ASP 2%, Democratic Socialist Union Party 1.6%,
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independents 33.6%;
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seats--(250 total) Bath 134, ASU 8, SCP 8,
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Arab Socialist Unionist Movement 7, ASP 5, Democratic Socialist Union
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Party 4, independents 84;
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the People's Council was expanded to 250 seats total prior to the
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May 1990 election
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Communists: mostly sympathizers, numbering about 5,000
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Other political or pressure groups: non-Bath parties have little
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effective political influence; Communist party ineffective; greatest
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threat to Asad regime lies in factionalism in the military; conservative
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religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood
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Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24,
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G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
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INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN,
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UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Walid MOUALEM;
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Chancery at 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
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232-6313;
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US--Ambassador Edward P. DJEREJIAN; Embassy at Abu Rumaneh,
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Al Mansur Street No.2, Damascus (mailing address is P. O. Box 29,
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Damascus); telephone 963 (11) 333052 or 332557, 330416, 332814, 332315,
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714108, 337178, 333232, 334352
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Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
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with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered
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in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen which has a plain white
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band and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic
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inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white
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band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle
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centered in the white band
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Syria's rigidly structured Bathist economy turned
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out slightly more goods in 1990 than in 1983, when the population was 20%
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smaller. Economic difficulties are attributable, in part, to severe
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drought in several recent years, costly but unsuccessful attempts
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to match Israel's military strength, a falloff in Arab aid, and
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insufficient foreign exchange earnings to buy needed inputs for industry
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and agriculture. Socialist policy, embodied in a thicket of bureaucratic
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regulations, in many instances has driven away or pushed underground the
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mercantile and entrepreneurial spirit for which Syrian businessmen have
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long been famous. Two bright spots: a sizable number of villagers have
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benefited from land redistribution, electrification, and other rural
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development programs; and a recent find of light crude oil has enabled
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Syria to cut oil imports. A long-term concern is the additional drain of
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upstream Euphrates water by Turkey when its vast dam and irrigation
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projects are completed toward the end of the 1990s. Output in 1990
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rebounded from the very bad year of 1989, as agricultural production
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and oil revenues increased substantially.
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GDP: $20.0 billion, per capita $1,600; real growth rate 12%
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(1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $4.8 billion; expenditures $5.5 billion, including
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capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1990 est.)
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Exports: $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--petroleum 40%, textiles 30%, farm products 13%,
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phosphates (1989);
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partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 42%, EC 31%, Arab countries 17%,
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US/Canada 2% (1989)
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Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--foodstuffs and beverages 21%, metal and metal
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products 16%, machinery 14%, textiles, petroleum (1989);
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partners--EC 42%, USSR and Eastern Europe 13%, other Europe 13%,
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US/Canada 8%, Arab countries 6% (1989)
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External debt: $5.2 billion in hard currency (1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 17% (1990 est.); accounts
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for 19% of GDP
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Electricity: 2,867,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced,
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500 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco,
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phosphate rock mining, petroleum
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Agriculture: accounts for 27% of GDP and one-third of labor force;
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all major crops (wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas) grown
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mainly on rainfed land causing wide swings in production; animal
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products--beef, lamb, eggs, poultry, milk; not self-sufficient in grain
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or livestock products
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $538
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million; Western (non-US) ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88),
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$1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12.3 billion; Communist
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countries (1970-89), $3.3 billion
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Currency: Syrian pound (plural--pounds);
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1 Syrian pound (LS) = 100 piasters
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Exchange rates: Syrian pounds (LS) per US$1--11.2250 (fixed rate
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since 1987), 3.9250 (fixed rate 1976-87)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 2,241 km total; 1,930 km standard gauge, 311 km
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1.050-meter narrow gauge; note--the Tartus-Latakia line is nearly
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complete
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Highways: 27,000 km total; 21,000 km paved, 3,000 km gravel or
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crushed stone, 3,000 km improved earth
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Inland waterways: 672 km; of little economic importance
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Pipelines: 1,304 km crude oil; 515 km refined products
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Ports: Tartus, Latakia, Baniyas
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Merchant marine: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,951
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GRT/86,552 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle
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carrier, 1 bulk
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Civil air: 35 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 99 total, 96 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: fair system currently undergoing significant
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improvement; 512,600 telephones; stations--9 AM, 1 FM, 40 TV; satellite
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earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station, with 1
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Intersputnik station under construction; 1 submarine cable; coaxial
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cable and radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon (inactive)
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air
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Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,825,214; 1,584,887 fit for
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military service; 149,105 reach military age (19) annually
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Defense expenditures: $1.6 billion, 10.9% of GDP (1988 est.)
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