Slightly larger than North Dakota, Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon and Israel on the west, Turkey on the north, Iraq on the east, and Jordan on the south. Coastal Syria is a narrow plain, in back of which is a range of coastal mountains, and still farther inland a steppe area. In the east is the Syrian Desert and in the south is the Jebel Druze Range. The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon (9,232 ft; 2,814 m) on the Lebanese border.
Country lead by President: Bashar al-Assad (2000)
Prime Minister: Muhammad Naji al-Otari (2003)
Population
18,881,361 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 27.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 28.6/1000; life expectancy: 70.3; density per sq mi: 266
Land Area
71,062 sq mi (184,051 sq km); total area: 71,498 sq mi (sq km)
Monetary unit
Syrian pound Language
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Ethnicity Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Religion Islam (Sunni) 74%; Alawite, Druze, and other Islamic sects 16%; Christian (various sects) 10%; Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Transportation Railways: total: 2,743 km (2002). Highways: total: 43,381 km; paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways); unpaved: 33,360 km (1999). Waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance. Ports and harbors: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus. Airports: 92 (2002).
