Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007 Bashar al-ASAD was elected to his second term as president.

Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Dar'a in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Since then demonstrations and unrest have spread to nearly every city in Syria, but the size and intensity of protests have fluctuated over time. The government has responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law and approving new laws permitting new political parties and liberalizing local and national elections - and force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD to step down, and the government's ongoing security operations to quell unrest and widespread armed opposition activity have led to increasingly violent clashes between government forces and oppositionists. International pressure on the ASAD regime has intensified since late 2011 as the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the United States have expanded economic sanctions against the regime. Lakhdar BRAHIMI, current Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, in October 2012 began meeting with regional heads of state to assist in bringing about a cease-fire. The combined death toll of Syrian government forces, opposition forces, and civilians amid unrest in October topped 30,000.

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

slightly larger than North Dakota

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

primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west

petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower

dust storms, sandstorms

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water

the capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 41 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (2010 est.)

Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%

Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian (widely understood); French, English (somewhat understood)

Sunni Muslim (Islam - official) 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

22,530,746 (July 2012 est.)

23.52 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

3.67 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-27.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Aleppo 2.985 million; DAMASCUS (capital) 2.527 million; Hims 1.276 million; Hamah 854,000 (2009)

70 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

2.85 children born/woman (2012 est.)

1.5 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2009)

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

republic under an authoritarian regime

14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab, Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus

17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

Independence Day, 17 April (1946)

13 March 1973; amended February 2012

mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts)

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the president); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the president); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce)

Arab Human Rights Organization in Syria or AHRO; Damascus Declaration Group (a broad alliance of secular, religious, and Kurdish opposition groups); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM and other small opposition groups in exile; formerly included the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood); Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression [Mazin DARWISH]; Syrian Human Rights Organization [Muhanad al-HASANI]; Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fayez FAWAZ]; Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Muhammad Riyad al-SHAQFAH] (operates in exile in London)

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); identical to the former flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961) where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; the current design dates to 1980

After modest economic reform in recent years, Syria's economy suffered the effects of political unrest and violence in 2011. Economic growth slowed because of international sanctions and reduced domestic consumption and production. Prior to the unrest, Damascus had cut lending interest rates, opened private banks, consolidated multiple exchange rates, raised prices on some subsidized items, and established the Damascus Stock Exchange, which began operations in 2009. The economy remains highly regulated by the government, which has increased subsidies and tightened trade controls to assuage protesters and protect foreign currency reserves. Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.

$107.6 billion (2011 est.)

$111.5 billion (2010 est.)

$107.8 billion (2009 est.)

$64.7 billion (2011 est.)

5.642 million (2011 est.)

21.6% of GDP (2011 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2011 est.)

-9.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

35.2% of GDP (2011 est.)

22.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

0.75% (31 December 2011 est.)

5% (31 December 2010 est.)

10.5% (31 December 2011 est.)

10% (31 December 2010 est.)

$22.37 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$22.78 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$46.52 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$161 billion (31 December 2009)

$31.84 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$27.68 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk

petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing, car assembly

-$7.15 billion (2011 est.)

-$367 million (2010 est.)

$8.112 billion (2011 est.)

$12.27 billion (2010 est.)

crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat

Iraq 38.8%, Italy 7.9%, Germany 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, Kuwait 4.2% (2011)

$12.93 billion (2011 est.)

$15.94 billion (2010 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper

Saudi Arabia 14.5%, China 10.1%, UAE 7.1%, Turkey 6.7%, Iran 5.3%, Italy 5%, Russia 4.5%, Iraq 4.3% (2011)

$14.83 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$19.52 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7.074 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.295 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar -

40.86 billion kWh (2009 est.)

28.87 billion kWh (2009 est.)

8.2 million kW (2009 est.)

84.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

15.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

333,900 bbl/day (2011 est.)

144,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2.5 billion bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

255,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)

258,800 bbl/day (2011 est.)

14,540 bbl/day (2008 est.)

58,160 bbl/day (2008 est.)

8.94 billion cu m (2010 est.)

9.63 billion cu m (2010 est.)

690 million cu m (2010 est.)

240.7 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

63.1 million Mt (2010 est.)

4.345 million (2011)

13.117 million (2011)

state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and a satellite channel; roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station launched in 2005; private radio broadcasters prohibited from transmitting news or political content (2007)

4.469 million (2009)

gas 3,161 km; oil 1,997 km (2010)

900 km (navigable but not economically significant) (2011)

Baniyas, Latakia, Tartus

Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Forces (includes Air Defense Command) (2008)

18 years of age for compulsory male military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45 (NCOs) (2010)

5.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan

a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering