SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
ABOUT SYRIA
Syria is currently in its 9th year of a brutal civil war. This conflict is taking a heavy toll on the life and economy of the Syrian people. Hundred of thousands have been killed and millions displaced since the start of the war. The worsening economy is affecting the health care, education, housing, and food with millions unemployed and in poverty. Syrians are extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19. (World Bank, 2020).
HISTORY
There has been the rise and fall of many empires throughout the history of Syria. In the mid-3rd millennium BCE, various Semitic groups migrated into the region. This was followed by the Amorites, Hurrians, Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians, Aramaeans, Medes, and Persians. Alexander the Great invaded in 334 BCE. Following Alexander's death, the Seleucid kings controlled the region, but constant civil war caused Syria to break apart. It became a Roman province around 64 BCE before coming under the rule of Constantinople. Syria fell to the Islamic invasion in 635 and continued to experience the rise and fall of various Islamic empires throughout the following centuries. Syria experienced invasions from the Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols. It finally came under the Ottoman empire during the 16th century. After the fall of the Ottoman empire and World War 1, Syria became its own country under the rule of France. Syria did not gain its independence until after World War II on April 17, 1946. Political life continued to be highly unstable, due to the country's social, religious, and political groups. (Commins, et al., 2020).
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References
Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. (n.d.). Middle east: Syria. The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publication
Commins, D. D., Irvine, V. E., Smith, C. G., Hourani, A. H., Hamidé, A. R., Scullard, H. H., ... Salibi, K. S. (2020). Syria. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria
The World Bank. (2020). Overview. The World Bank In Syrian Arab Republic. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/syria/overview
Travel.State.Gov. (2020a). Syria. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SyrianArabRepublic.html
Travel.State.Gov. (2020b). Syria travel advisory. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/syria-travel-advisory.html
World Population Review. (2020). Syrian population 2020 (live). UN World Population Prospects (2019 Revision). Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/syria-population
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LOCATION
Syria is located in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey is located to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Lebanon and Israel to the southwest. A small territory called the Golan Heights has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Syria is divided into 14 provinces, and gained its independence on April 17, 1946 (Commins, et al., 2020).
COUNTRY SIZE
Syria is around 71,498 sq. miles or 185,180 sq. km (World Population Review, 2020). It is around one and a half times the size of Pennsylvania (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.).
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CLIMATE AND TERRAIN
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Syria tends to have hot, dry summers and rainy winters. Along the coastal area, the winters are mild, but snow and sleet can occur in other areas.
Syria is largely desert with a narrow coastal plain, mountains in the west, and large agricultural areas to the north and northwest. Dust or sandstorms are the main natural hazards. The Euphrates river is the main source of water for much of the agriculture area (Commins, et al., 2020).
POPULATION
Syria has a population of around 17,568,242 people (World Population Review, 2020).
Nationality: The majority are Arab Muslims but also include 2 million Kurds, 0.7-1.5 million Turkmen, and 0.9-1.2 million Assyrians (The World Population, 2020).
Religion: The main religion is Islam with 74% Sunni Muslim, 11% Alawite (Shi'ite) Muslim, and 3% Druze. Syria contains one of the largest Christian populations in the Middle East at around 10%. This includes Greek Orthodox and Catholic, Syrian Orthodox and Catholic, Armenian Orthodox and Catholic, Maronite, Protestant, Nestorian, Latin, and Chaldean. There is a very small Jewish population (Commins, et al., 2020).
Language: Arabic is the official language, but Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, and a little French and English are spoken as well (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.).
ECONOMY
The economy has deteriorated by more than 70% since the start of the conflict in 2011.
Agriculture is important with wheat as the most significant food crop along with sugar beets, barley, corn, millet, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, tomatoes, potatoes, melons, onions, grapes, apples, citrus fruits, tobacco, eggs, milk, sheep, cattle, camels, and poultry.
Natural resources include petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, and gypsum. Petroleum was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. It is now on a steady decline. Natural gas was discovered in 1940.
Industrial resources include textiles, food processing, pharmaceuticals, cement, glass, batteries, and plywood (CIA, n.d. & Commins, et al. n.d.).
Syria is considered a low income level country with 80% living below the poverty level (The World Bank,2020)
GOVERNMENT
The Syrian Arab Republic, also known as Syria, gets its name from the ancient Assyrians. The capital city of Damascus is thought to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Damascus is the national headquarters and main center of education, culture, and industry.
Currency: The Syrian pound is the local currency and has fallen significantly in the past year. The pound is issued by the Central Bank of Syria.
President: Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000. He had studied ophthalmology in England before his fathers death. He is part of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party and an Alawite Muslim.
Law: Law is decided using a mixed legal system of civil and Islamic (Sharia) law. The head of state must be a Muslim, and the Ba'th Party is guaranteed an absolute majority. Legislative members are elected by popular vote to 4 year terms (CIA, n.d. & Commins, et al., 2020).
Military: Military service is mandatory for all men with only a few exceptions. Anyone of Syrian descent is required to complete military service or pay an exemption fee (Travel.State.Gov, 2020a). Children are recruited into the different military groups as soldiers, human shields, or executioners (Commins, et al., 2020).
TOURISM
Syria contains ancient and classical ruins, Muslim and Christian religious sites, and Crusader and medieval Islamic architecture. Some of these places are UNESCO World Heritage sites. There are very few tourists from Europe or America with most tourists coming from Iran and Turkey or other Arab countries (CIA, n.d.).
Syria is rated at a level 4 travel advisory due to COVID-19, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict (Travel.State.Gov, 2020b).
CIVIL WAR
Anti-government protests started in March 2011, which resulted in government crackdown on protesters. This led to the civil war between the government forces, their allies, and opposition groups. Russian and Iran are Syrian's allies along with support from China. The opposition group is call the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is made up of seven Islamist militias and supported by Turkey. Northeast Syria is controlled by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and supported by the coalition (US leading).
In April of 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came to conquer the region. It has since fallen, but pockets of sleeper cells remain throughout the region. In 2019, Turkey took areas along the north and northwest border from the SDF. This created a new mass of refugees (CIA, n.d. & Commins, et al., 2020).
The death toll since the start of the civil war is around 500,000 with over 1 million injured. There is an estimated 6.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). It is estimated the 13.5 million Syrians needed humanitarian aid in 2016, which has likely increased since the 2019 Turkey invasion. Around 5,000 people flee Syria every day with 9 million who have fled the country (The World Population, 2020).