Amidst a landscape of profound loss and enduring resilience, the story of modern Syria is one of a nation grappling with a staggering demographic and humanitarian crisis where nearly half its population has been displaced and a generation's potential hangs in the balance.
Key Takeaways
- Syria's total population as of July 2024 is estimated at 23,227,014 people, with a median age of 25.2 years and a population growth rate of -1.45%
- As of 2023, approximately 7.2 million Syrians are internally displaced persons (IDPs), representing about 31% of the pre-war population
- Syria's urban population percentage stands at 54.5% as of 2023, with rural population at 45.5%
- Syria's GDP (PPP) was estimated at $41.2 billion in 2023, down from $110 billion pre-war
- GDP per capita (PPP) in Syria is $1,830 as of 2023, reflecting severe contraction
- Inflation rate in Syria reached 120.55% in 2023 due to currency devaluation and sanctions
- Syria's total land area is 185,180 square kilometers, making it the 87th largest country globally
- Syria's coastline along the Mediterranean Sea stretches 193 kilometers
- Highest point is Mount Hermon at 2,814 meters above sea level
- Syrian Civil War began March 15, 2011, with protests in Daraa
- Over 500,000 deaths attributed to Syrian conflict from 2011-2023 per Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- Bashar al-Assad has been President since July 2000, winning 95.1% in 2021 election
- Life expectancy declined from 75.9 years pre-war to 72.5 in 2023 due to conflict
- Under-5 mortality rate is 22.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Maternal mortality ratio 29 deaths per 100,000 live births (2020)
Syria's population is declining after immense losses from its prolonged and devastating civil war.
Demographics
- Syria's total population as of July 2024 is estimated at 23,227,014 people, with a median age of 25.2 years and a population growth rate of -1.45%
- As of 2023, approximately 7.2 million Syrians are internally displaced persons (IDPs), representing about 31% of the pre-war population
- Syria's urban population percentage stands at 54.5% as of 2023, with rural population at 45.5%
- The fertility rate in Syria for 2023 is 2.68 children born per woman, down from 3.59 in 2010
- Life expectancy at birth in Syria is 73.4 years for males and 78.2 years for females as of 2023 estimates
- Syria's population density is 118 people per square kilometer as of 2023, concentrated mostly in the western regions
- Ethnic Arabs constitute 90-95% of Syria's population, with Kurds at 5-10%, Armenians 2%, and others 1-3% as per 2023 data
- Religious composition: Muslims 87% (official 74% Sunni, 13% other Islamic sects), Christians 10%, Druze 3% as of recent estimates
- Youth unemployment rate among 15-24 year olds in Syria was 49.7% in 2022
- Net migration rate for Syria is -22.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population annually due to ongoing conflict
- Syria has over 6.8 million Syrian refugees registered worldwide as of mid-2024, primarily in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan
- Age structure: 0-14 years 30.77% (male 3,677,240/female 3,530,367), 15-64 years 64.5%, 65+ 4.73% as of 2024 est.
- Literacy rate for population aged 15+ is 86.3% overall (91.7% male, 81.2% female) based on 2018 data
- Syria's dependency ratio is 55.2% (youth 48.2%, elderly 7%) as of 2023
- Infant mortality rate is 15.9 deaths/1,000 live births as of 2023 est.
- Total migrant stock in Syria is 139,670 as of 2020, mostly from Iraq and Palestine
- Female headed households represent 20% of all households in Syria due to conflict losses, as of 2023 surveys
- Syria's population pyramid shows a broad base narrowing rapidly due to emigration and low fertility post-2011
- Official language is Arabic, spoken by 90% natively, with Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic as minorities
- Syria's largest city Damascus has 2.5 million residents as of 2023 est.
- Aleppo, second largest city, has 1.8 million people despite war damage, 2023 est.
- Homs metropolitan area population is approximately 1.2 million as of recent counts
- Latakia port city has 545,000 residents, key demographic hub on coast
- Deir ez-Zor has 270,000 people, affected by ISIS conflict
- Raqqa population estimated at 220,000 post-ISIS liberation in 2023
- Syria's sex ratio at birth is 1.06 males per female, overall 1.01 male/female
- Child population (0-17) is about 42% of total, or 9.7 million as of 2023
- Elderly (65+) population is 1.1 million, growing slowly despite emigration
- Working-age population (15-64) is 15 million, but high unemployment
- Syria's population doubled from 12.1 million in 1990 to 22 million pre-war in 2011
Demographics Interpretation
Syria’s youth are poised to inherit a nation profoundly hollowed out—half of them can’t find work, nearly a third are displaced inside their own borders, and the future is quite literally shrinking as more people flee each year than are born.
Economy
- Syria's GDP (PPP) was estimated at $41.2 billion in 2023, down from $110 billion pre-war
- GDP per capita (PPP) in Syria is $1,830 as of 2023, reflecting severe contraction
- Inflation rate in Syria reached 120.55% in 2023 due to currency devaluation and sanctions
- Unemployment rate is officially 50% (2023 est.), with youth at 75%
- Agriculture accounts for 20.7% of GDP and employs 41% of labor force in 2023
- Oil production fell to 80,000 barrels per day in 2023 from 385,000 pre-war
- Exports in 2022 totaled $1.5 billion, mainly petroleum and agricultural products
- Imports reached $5.2 billion in 2022, dominated by machinery and food
- Public debt as % of GDP is over 160% in 2023 estimates due to war financing
- Current account balance was -5.8% of GDP in 2022
- Foreign reserves stood at $1.9 billion in 2023, critically low
- Tourism revenue pre-war was $8.4 billion (2010), now negligible at under $100 million
- Remittances inflows are $1.6 billion annually (2022), vital for households
- Industrial sector contributes 16.5% to GDP, focused on textiles and food processing
- Services sector is 62.8% of GDP, including trade and transport disrupted by war
- Syrian Pound (SYP) exchange rate averaged 13,000 SYP per USD in 2023 black market
- Poverty rate exceeds 80% of population living below $2.15/day equivalent in 2023
- Wheat production was 1.2 million metric tons in 2023, down 70% from pre-war averages
- Cotton exports totaled 25,000 tons valued at $50 million in 2022
- Phosphate mining output is 1.5 million tons annually, key mineral export
- Construction sector contracted 90% since 2011, now minimal GDP contribution
- Banking assets total $25 billion in 2023, dominated by public banks
- Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows were -$200 million in 2022 due to outflows
- Electricity production capacity is 8,000 MW but output only 40% utilized in 2023
- Water desalination plants produce 200,000 cubic meters/day on coast
- Informal economy estimated at 60% of GDP due to sanctions and war
- Tax revenue as % of GDP is 5.2% in 2023, severely limited
Economy Interpretation
The grim tale told by these numbers is that a nation once boasting a diversified, middle-income economy has been reduced to a shattered, subsistence-level state where half its people can't find work, nearly everyone is poor, and its currency is treated like confetti at a funeral no one wanted to attend.
Education
- 2.4 million children out of school, 40% of school-age kids (2023)
- Adult literacy rate 86.3% (2018), but functional literacy lower post-war
- Primary school enrollment 58% net (2022), down from 97% pre-war
- Female secondary enrollment 25% (2022), affected by early marriage
- Universities: 6 public, including Damascus University with 250,000 students pre-war, now halved
- Education budget <1% GDP (2023 est.)
- 7,000 schools damaged/destroyed since 2011
- Tertiary enrollment gross rate 28% (2020)
- Gender parity index in primary education 0.98 (2022)
Education Interpretation
The heartbreaking arithmetic of Syria's war reveals a nation now counting its lost potential instead of its children, where today's staggering 40% of school-age kids out of class forecasts a future built on the shaky foundation of a 1% education budget.
Geography
- Syria's total land area is 185,180 square kilometers, making it the 87th largest country globally
- Syria's coastline along the Mediterranean Sea stretches 193 kilometers
- Highest point is Mount Hermon at 2,814 meters above sea level
- Lowest point is unnamed location near Lake Tiberias at -200 meters
- Euphrates River, longest in Syria at 710 km within borders, vital for irrigation
- Orontes River flows 571 km through Syria, key for Hama and Homs regions
- Lake Assad (Tabqa Reservoir) covers 625 square km, largest artificial lake
- Arable land constitutes 25.4% of total land (47,110 sq km) as of 2021
- Forest area is 2.7% of land (5,000 sq km), declining due to war and overuse
- Desert covers 50% of Syria, mainly Syrian Desert (Badiyat al-Sham) spanning 500,000 sq km
- Annual precipitation averages 252 mm nationwide, ranging from 1,000 mm coastal to 50 mm eastern desert
- Average temperature in Damascus is 17.6°C yearly, with summer highs of 36°C
- Jabal al-Druze volcanic field in south has 120 volcanoes, highest 1,800m
- Golan Heights area under Israeli control is 1,200 sq km, disputed since 1967
- Tigris River headwaters originate in Syria's northeast mountains
- Palmyra oasis in desert, UNESCO site, spans arid steppe zone
- Dead Cities (ruins) cover 130 sites in northwest limestone massif
- Renewable water resources per capita fell to 300 cubic meters/year in 2023, below scarcity threshold
- Earthquake risk high; 2023 Turkey-Syria quake magnitude 7.8 affected northwest Syria
- Soil erosion affects 40% of arable land due to deforestation and overgrazing
- Coastal wetlands like Latakia lagoons support migratory birds, 10,000 hectares
- Anti-Lebanon Mountains run 150 km parallel to coast, average 2,000m elevation
- Al-Jazira plateau in northeast averages 300m elevation, fertile for wheat
- Time zone is UTC+3 (Arabia Standard Time), no daylight saving
- Syria borders 6 countries: Turkey 911 km, Iraq 599 km, Jordan 379 km, Israel 83 km, Lebanon 403 km, Mediterranean 193 km
- Crac des Chevaliers castle on coastal mountains, UNESCO site at 1,000m altitude
- Aleppo Citadel hill rises 50m above city, strategic geographic feature
Geography Interpretation
Though blessed with the vital Euphrates and once-fertile plains, Syria's very bones—from its parching deserts to its contested highlands—now tell a story of a land stretched thin by scarcity, conflict, and the relentless erosion of its ancient abundance.
Health
- Life expectancy declined from 75.9 years pre-war to 72.5 in 2023 due to conflict
- Under-5 mortality rate is 22.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022
- Maternal mortality ratio 29 deaths per 100,000 live births (2020)
- 90% of population lacks access to safe drinking water in 2023 due to infrastructure damage
- Polio vaccination coverage dropped to 40% in 2023 from 95% pre-war
- 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance in 2024, half population
- Physician density 1.5 per 1,000 people (2021), halved since 2011
- Hospital beds 1.5 per 1,000 population, many non-functional
- Malnutrition: 15.8% stunting in children under 5 (2022)
- Anemia prevalence 42% in children 6-59 months (2019)
- Adult obesity rate 22% (2022), rising despite poverty
- Diabetes prevalence 13.9% among adults (2021 est.)
- Mental health: 30% population affected by depression/anxiety post-war (2023 survey)
- COVID-19 cases totaled 55,894 with 3,129 deaths as of 2023, underreported
- Tuberculosis incidence 17 per 100,000 (2022)
- Hepatitis A vaccination coverage 75% for children (2022)
Health Interpretation
The war has not only stolen years from Syria's life expectancy but also systematically dismantled the very pillars of health, replacing a nation's vitality with a brutal calculus of preventable deaths, crumbling infrastructure, and a population drowning in physical and psychological trauma.
Politics
- Syrian Civil War began March 15, 2011, with protests in Daraa
- Over 500,000 deaths attributed to Syrian conflict from 2011-2023 per Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- Bashar al-Assad has been President since July 2000, winning 95.1% in 2021 election
- Ba'ath Party holds 168/250 seats in People's Assembly as of 2024
- US sanctions under Caesar Act imposed June 2020, targeting regime and enablers
- HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) controls Idlib Governorate, 3.5 million population, since 2017
- SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) holds northeast Syria, 25% territory, backed by US
- Turkey launched 4 major operations into Syria: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019), Claw-Lock (2023)
- Russian intervention started Sept 30, 2015, with 90,000+ airstrikes by 2023
- Iran supports Assad with 3,000 IRGC advisors and 70,000 proxies (Hezbollah, Afghan militias) as of 2023
- UN Resolution 2254 (2015) outlines political transition roadmap, unimplemented
- Constitutional referendum approved 2000 constitution with 98.58% vote
- Emergency law in force 1963-2011 suspended protests
- 13 provincial councils exist, but power centralized in Damascus
- Women hold 13% of parliamentary seats (31/250) as of 2024
- Freedom House scores Syria 1/100 for freedom in 2024 report
- Corruption Perceptions Index rank 178/180 in 2023, score 13/100
- Press Freedom Index rank 177/180 in 2024
- HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani declared amnesty for regime forces in 2017
- US designated ISIS caliphate defeated March 2019, but 10,000 fighters remain in Syria
- Astana talks (Russia, Turkey, Iran) established 4 de-escalation zones 2017, now 1 remains
- Geneva talks under UN auspices held 17 rounds since 2016, no breakthrough
- Syrian Kurds held autonomy elections for 3 cantons in 2017, unrecognized
- HAFEZ al-Assad ruled 1971-2000, Ba'ath coup 1963 started era
- Over 6 million IDPs and 5.4 million refugees abroad due to war as of 2024
- Syria joined Arab League 1945, suspended 2011-2023, readmitted 2023
- Military expenditure 5.1% of GDP pre-war (2010), now untracked but high
- Active military personnel 130,500 (army 100,000, navy 16,100, air force 14,400) 2024 est.
Politics Interpretation
A thirteen-year parade of statistics, from an election with dictator-grade percentages to a million shattered lives, tells a single stark story: Syria is a nation meticulously fractured by its ruler, carved into fiefdoms by foreign powers, and exhaustively documented as a monument to human suffering.
Society
- Internet users 35% of population (12.2 million) as of 2023
- Mobile subscriptions 14.5 million (75 per 100 people) 2023
- Electricity access 90% urban but 50% rural (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index score 0.503 (2021), rank 118 globally
- Early marriage rate 25% for girls under 18 (2022)
- Crime rate low officially but black market rampant, homicide rate 2.1/100k pre-war
- Household size average 5.3 persons (2019)
- Social media penetration 40% (Facebook 4M users) 2024
- Drug use: Captagon production hub, 500M pills seized 2023 globally from Syria
- Cultural heritage: 24 UNESCO tentative sites, 6 inscribed but 4 damaged
Society Interpretation
Syria presents a jarring portrait of a society where nearly everyone has a mobile phone and social media is widespread, yet the electricity is often off, a quarter of girls are forced into childhood marriage, and the nation's profound cultural heritage has been ravaged while its economy now runs on a hellish cocktail of black markets and industrial-scale drug production.
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