Syrian Arab Republic

Submitted to: Mam Saba

Presented by: Shazia Shah

Intro.
yrian Arab RepublicPresident: Bashar al-Assad
(2000)
Prime Minister: Riyad Farid Hijab (2012)
Land area: 71,062 sq mi (184,051 sq km);
total area:71,498 sq mi (185,180 sq km)
Population (2012 est.):22,530,746 (growth
rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 23.52/1000; infant
mortality rate: 15.12/1000; life expectancy:
74.92; density per sq mi: 306.5

 Capital (2011 est.): Damascus, 5 million

(metro. area), 1,711,000
Largest cities: Aleppo, 2,132,100; Homs,
652,609; Latakia, 383,786; Hama, 312,994
Monetary unit: Syrian pound
National name: Al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah asSuriyah

 Literacy rate: 79.6% (2004 est.)

Economic summary : GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $107.6 billion; per
capita $5,100.
Real growth rate: -2%.
Inflation:4.8%.
Unemployment: 14.9%.
Arable land: 25%.
Agriculture: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar
beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk.
Labor force: 5.642 million (2011 est.); agriculture 17%, industry
16%, services 67% (2008 est.).
Industries : petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages,
tobacco, phosphate rock mining.

 Natural resources : petroleum, phosphates, chrome

and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt,
marble, gypsum, hydropower.
Exports:$10.29 billion (2011 est.): crude oil, petroleum
products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing,
meat and live animals, wheat.
Imports: $17.6 billion (2011 est.): machinery and
transport equipment, electric power machinery, food
and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and
chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper.
Major trading partners: Italy, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, China, Russia, Germany, Kuwait, Iran (2011).

 Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 4.345 million

(2011); mobile cellular: 13.117 million (2011)Radio broadcast
stations: AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2007).Radios: 4.15 million
(1997).Television broadcast stations: 44 (plus 17 repeaters)
(1995). Televisions:1.05 million (1997). Internet Service Providers
(ISPs): 416 (2012). Internet users: 4.469 million (2009).
Transportation: Railways:total: 2,052 km (2008).Highways: total:
68,157 km; paved: 61,514 km (including 1,103 km of expressways);
unpaved: 6,643 km (2006).Waterways: 900 km; minimal economic
importance. Ports and harbors: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia,
Tartus. Airports: 99 (2012).
International disputes: Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon
claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been
stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish
hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is
quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province.

Culture
Syria is a traditional society with a long
cultural history. Importance is placed on
family, religion, education and self-discipline
and respect. The Syrian's taste for the
traditional arts is expressed in dances such as
the al-Samah, the Dabkeh in all their
variations and the sword dance. Marriage
ceremonies are occasions for the lively
demonstration of folk customs.

 The scribes of the city of Ugarit (modern Ras

Shamra) created a cuneiform alphabet in the
14th century BC. The alphabet was written in
the familiar order we use today.
Archaeologists have discovered extensive
writings and evidence of a culture rivaling
those of Iraq, and Egypt in and around the
ancient city of Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh).

Religion
Membership of a religious community in Syria is
ordinarily determined by birth. Based on
statistical analyses from 2006,Muslims were
estimated as constituting 87% to 90% (depending
on whether Druze were included or not) of the
total population, although their proportion was
possibly greater and was certainly growing. The
Muslim birthrate reportedly was higher than that
of the minorities, and proportionately fewer
Muslims were emigrates. Of the Syrian
population, 74 to 64%
were Sunnis (including Sufis),

 whereas 13 to 21% were Shias,

either Alawites (18.0%) from which about 2%
are called Mershdis and they are the followers
of Sulayman al-Murshid, Twelvers (3%),
or Ismail's (0.1%). 5% were Druze, while the
remaining 10-15% were Christians. Not all the
Sunnis are Arabs. Most of the Kurds, who
make up 9% of the population are officially
Sunni, as are the Turkmens who encompass
1%

Regional Conflicts Continue Through the End of

the Century
n 1990, President Assad ruled out any possibility of
legalizing opposition political parties. In Dec. 1991 voters
approved a fourth term for Assad, giving him 99.98% of the
vote.
In the 1990s, the slowdown in the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process was echoed in the lack of progress in Israeli-Syrian
relations. Confronted with a steadily strengthening
strategic partnership between Israel and Turkey,
Syria took steps to construct a countervailing alliance by
improving relations with Iraq, strengthening ties with Iran,
and collaborating more closely with Saudi Arabia. In Dec.
1999, Israeli-Syrian talks resumed after a nearly four-year
hiatus, but they soon broke down over discussions about
the Golan Heights.

Syria is Repeatedly Accused of

Supporting Terrorist Groups
he U.S. imposed economic sanctions on the country in
May, accusing it of continuing to support terrorism.
In Sept. 2004, a UN Security Council resolution asked
Syria to withdraw its 15,000 remaining troops from
Lebanon. Syria responded by moving about 3,000
troops from the vicinity of Beirut to eastern Lebanon, a
gesture viewed by many as merely cosmetic.
On Feb. 14, 2004, Lebanon's former prime minister
Rafik Hariri was assassinated
Many implicated Syria in the death of the popular and
independent leader, who staunchly opposed Syrian
involvement in Lebanon.

 In July 2006, during the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict

in Lebanon, Syria was strongly suspected of
aiding Hezbollah.
Israeli jets fired on targets deep inside Syria in
September 2007. American and Israeli
intelligence analysts later said that Israel had
attacked a partially built nuclear reactor. Several
officials wondered aloud if North Korea had
played a role in the development of the nuclear
plant.

Syria and Israel Begin Negotiating, but Terrorism and

Conflict Continue
For the first time in eight years, Syria and Israel
returned to the bargaining table in May 2008. Syria
wants to regain control over the Golan Heights, which
was taken by Israel in 1967, and Israel hopes an
agreement will distance Iran from Syria and diminish
some sway Iran holds over the Middle East. Syria also
reached out to the West, meeting with French
president Nicolas Sarkozy in July.
Assad met with Lebanese president Michael Suleiman
in October 2008, and the two agreed that Lebanon and
Syria would establish full diplomatic relationsfor the
first time since both countries gained independence
from France in 1943.

 In October, American Special Operations

Forces launched an air attack into Syria, killing
a leader of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia near the
Iraqi border. U.S. officials say the militant, Abu
Ghadiya, smuggled weapons, money, and
fighters into Iraq from Syria.

Government Forces Crack Down on

Protesters
The anti-government protest movement that swept
through the Middle East in early 2011 also engulfed
Syria. Syria, however, was spared the unrest until midMarch, when the arrest of about a dozen school-age
children for painting anti-government graffiti in the
southeast town of Dara'a sparked outrage, prompting
citizens to take to the streets in protest.
Demonstrations broke out throughout the country,
with protesters calling for the release of political
prisoners, an end to pervasive corruption, the lifting of
the emergency law that has stood since 1963, and
broader civil rights.

 March 25, the government reneged on a promise not to

use force against the protesters, opening fire on
demonstrators in the south. As many as 60 people were
killed. The political crisis deepened in the following days,
and on March 29, President Assad's cabinet resigned.
Assad in fact did attempt to thwart protests, deploying
troops to several cities across Syria and brutally cracking
down on protesters. By late May about 850 protesters had
been killed by forces.
The continued suppression led the Obama administration
to impose sanctions on Assad and six other high-ranking
officials.

Foreign Relations
Ensuring national security, increasing influence among
its Arab neighbors, and securing the return of
the Golan Heights, have been the primary goals of
Syria's foreign policy. At many points in its history, Syria
has seen virulent tension with its geographically
cultural neighbors, such as Turkey, Israel, Iraq,
and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in
relations with several of the states in its region in the
21st century, prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian
Civil War.
Since the ongoing civil war, Syria has been increasingly
isolated from the countries in the region, and the wider
international community.

 Diplomatic relations have been severed with

several countries including: Britain, Turkey, Saudi
Arabia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, United
States, Belgium, Spain, and the Gulf States.
Syria is suspended from the Arab League in 2011
and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in
2012. Syria continues to foster good relations
with its traditional allies, Iran and Russia.

 Other countries that presently maintain good

relations and are allies with Syria
include China, North
Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicarag
ua, Brazil, Guyana, India, South
Africa, Tanzania, Pakistan, Armenia,
Sudan, Argentina, Belarus, Tajikistan,
Philippines, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and others. From
among the Arab League states, Syria continues to
have good relations with Iraq, Egypt (after 3 July
2013), Algeria and Lebanon.