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Middle East

Syria

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey.

Muslim population87%of the population

Population26.5 millionpeople (current)

CapitalDamascusUTC+3

Currency2,506 = $1Syrian pounds (SYP) (2022)

Country basics

Syria is a republic in Western Asia on the eastern Mediterranean, bordering Turkey and Iraq.

Syria is a country with Damascus as its capital and Arabic as its official language, and its economy and population were reshaped by war from 2011. The pound is the currency, and farming, oil and phosphates were its main exports.

Official name

Syrian Arab Republic

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary presidential republic under a provisional government

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+02:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+963

Currency

Syrian pound (SYP, £)

Member of

Arab League; UN

Website

https://www.gov.sy

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

26.5 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

24.5 years (2025)

Living in cities

57.4% (2023)

Largest cities

Damascus (capital) 2.585 million · Aleppo 2.203 million · Hims (Homs) 1.443 million · Hamah 996,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

2,506 Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar (2022)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$4,200 (2023)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

94.1% (2022)

Unemployment

13% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

74.8 years (2024)

Doctors

1.52 per 1,000 people (2021)

Hospital beds

1.4 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

94.1% of people (2022)

Electricity

89% of people (2022)

Internet users

35% of people (2019)

Literacy

94.4% of adults (2021)

Land and climate

Climate

Mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus

SizeSlightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania

185,180 sq km

Natural hazards

Dust storms, sandstorms volcanism: Syria's two historically active volcanoes, Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border, have not erupted in centuries

National holiday

Independence Day (Evacuation Day), 17 April (1946)