Wikipedia

Syria

sovereign state in western Asia
This article is about the modern state of Syria. For other uses, see Syria (disambiguation).

35°N 38°E / 35°N 38°E / 35; 38

Syria
ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ (Arabic)
Sūrīyah
Coat of arms of
Coat of arms

Location of  Syria  (green)
Capital
and largest city
Damascus
33°30′N 36°18′E / 33.500°N 36.300°E / 33.500; 36.300
Recognised languages
Major languagesArabic
Kurdish
Minor languagesSyriac
Aramaic
Armenian
Circassian
Turkish
French
English
Ethnic groups
(2014[5])
90% Arab
9% Kurd
1% Other
Religion
87% Islam
2% Christianity[6]
3% Druze[7]
Demonym(s)Syrian
Government
Abu Mohammed Al-Julani
Mohammed al-Bashir
LegislatureVacant
Establishment
• Arab Kingdom of Syria
8 March 1920
• State of Syria under French mandate
1 December 1924
• Syrian Republic
14 May 1930
• De jure Independence
24 October 1945
• De facto Independence
17 April 1946
• Left the United Arab Republic
28 September 1961
• Ba'ath party seized power
8 March 1963
• Fall of Ba'athist rule
8 December 2024
Area
• Total
185,180[8] km2 (71,500 sq mi) (87th)
• Water (%)
1.1
Population
• 2020 estimate
17,500,657 (66th)
• 2010 census
21,018,834
• Density
118.3/km2 (306.4/sq mi) (70th)
GDP (PPP)2015 estimate
• Total
$50.28 billion[6]
• Per capita
$2,900[6]
GDP (nominal)2014 estimate
• Total
$24.6 billion[6] (167)
• Per capita
$831[6]
Gini (2014)55.8[9]
high
HDI (2019)Increase 0.567[10]
medium · 151st
CurrencySyrian pound (SYP)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+963
ISO 3166 codeSY
Internet TLD.sy
سوريا.

Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea and shares a maritime border with Cyprus, while its eastern and northern parts are mountainous. Syria's national capital is Damascus.

The biggest city is Aleppo. It has been embroiled in civil war since March 2011, when the population of Syria was 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi Shia, 10% Christian, 3% Druze, 1% Ismaili Shia 0.4% Twelver Shia and 0.1% Yazidi.[11]

History

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Before 20th century

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Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians, which then became part of the Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and then the Eastern Roman Empire. In those days people in Syria spoke the Syriac language and used the Syriac alphabet, while the Syrian city Antioch was one of the important cities in Christendom.

Islamization

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The Umayyad Caliphate took over Syria from the Eastern Roman Empire in the 7th century. Most of the indigenous population was converted to Islam and adopted the Arabic language.[12]

20th century

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When World War I started, the Ottoman Empire ruled Syria and many other places. When it ended, France controlled Lebanon and Syria. Britain had Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. They drew a border between Iraq and Syria in 1920. France controlled Syria until 1946 when Syria became its own country.[13][better source needed]

Cold War

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The line in the middle of this map is the border drawn in 1920 separating Iraq and Syria.

Syria was part of the United Arab Republic with Egypt between 1958 and 1961. Syria fought some wars with Israel. Its former territory Golan Heights has been governed by Israel since 1967.[14]

Meanwhile, the Ba'athist party seized power with a coup in 1963 to establish a junta.[15][16] In 1970, Hafiz al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad, took over with another coup and turned the Ba'athist Syrian state into a dynastic totalitarian state,[15][16] featured by systematic oppression and widespread human rights abuses,[15][16] which was passed on to Bashar when Hafiz passed away in 2000.[15][16]

21st century

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Most Syrians believe in Islam, while an ethnoreligious Christian minority, called the Syriac Christians, exists.[17]

2010s

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In 2011, anti-regime protests were brutally suppressed by President Bashar al-Assad, sparking off a civil war against Assad. Assad went on to commit countless atrocities against Syrians, including massacres, starving sieges[18] and chemical attacks,[19][20] which killed over 400,000 Syrians.[19][20] Amid the war, the Kurds took over a sizeable part of northern Syria, namely the Rojava.[21] In 2016, Assad regained most of Syria with the superior firepower of Russia and Iran.[22]

2020s

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A myriad of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic[23] and pro-Russian Western leftist opposition to NATO intervention,[24][25] had made the civil war a frozen conflict for several years until December 2024.[26]

In December 2024, regrouped rebel forces launched large-scale multi-pronged offensives unseen for a decade[26] amid weakened local Russian and Iranian military presence,[27] reportedly due to the countries' respective involvement in the invasion of Ukraine and conflict with Israel.[26][27] Aleppo, Homs and Daraa,[28] three of the largest Syrian cities, fell to the rebels within a week,[26] who also encircled Syria's capital Damascus.[26][29]

Fall of Ba'athist rule

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On December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad fled the capital as the rebels stormed in.[30] Assad's protecting power Russia claimed that Assad had left Syria[31] for Moscow.[32] Rebels inside the capital announced the end of the six-decade Ba'athist rule in Syria.[31][33]

Transitional government

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The united opposition announced that Mohammed al-Bashir, a previous leader of the provisional Salvation Government in Turkish-controlled northwest Syria, was named as the head of the transitional government, expected to serve until March 2025.[34]

Geography

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Syria is between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. It is mostly arid plateau. The area bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east. The climate in Syria is dry and hot. Winters are mild.[source?]

Politics and government

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Syria is a republic. The old Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971,[35][better source needed] making Syria a de jure secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution has been in place since 2012.[source?]

Branches of government

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The executive branch is the president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution says the president must be a Muslim.[35] It does not make Islam the state religion. According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by the Syrian people in a direct election. The People's Council is the legislative branch.[better source needed]

State control

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Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.[36][better source needed]

Human rights

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Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.[37][better source needed] The authorities kidnap democracy and human rights activists, censor websites and impose travel bans on their targets.[source?]

Military

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See the main article: Syrian Armed Forces

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces. There are about 400,000 troops. Ethnic Kurds have their own army called YPG. The Males must go in the military when they are age 18.[38] The armed forces stood down with the fall of the Ba'athist rule on December 8, 2024.[31][33]

Governorates

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Syria has fourteen Governorates, or muhafazat. The governorates are divided into sixty districts. The governorates are:

Economy

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Syria is a middle-income country. The economy is based on agriculture, oil, industry and tourism.[source?]

Transport

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Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia). They are hubs for Syrian Air. Foreign airlines also fly to them.[39][better source needed] Most Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens, the Syrian railway company.[source?]

Demographics

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Population in Syria[40][41]
Year Million
1971 6.6
1990 12.7
2009 21.9
Source: OECD/World Bank/UNO

Most people live in the Euphrates valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert. Education is free from ages 6 to 12. All children this age must attend school.[source?]

Sports

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The most popular sports in Syria are football, basketball, swimming, and tennis. Damascus was home to the fifth and seventh Pan Arab Games. Many popular football teams are based in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia.[source?]

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References

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Syria
  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/12/11/951bec6e-d1e6-4c8c-a69b-940a212eec9e_595de0ff.jpg
  3. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/world/video/abu-mohammad-al-jolani-syria-rebel-leader-karadsheh-digvid
  4. ↑ https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/middleeastnews/823325/mohammed-al-bashir-appointed-caretaker-syrian-pm-for-transitional-gove/en
  5. ↑ "Syria". CIA World factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Syria". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Syria: Ethnic Shift, 2010–mid 2018". gulf2000.columbia.edu. Columbia University Gulf2000. 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "Syrian ministry of foreign affairs". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "World Bank GINI index". World Bank. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Religion in Syria - 1943 Syrian Census". Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Report of the Commission Entrusted by the Council with the Study of the Frontier between Syria and Iraq". World Digital Library. 1932. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3
  17. ↑
  18. ↑
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1
  21. ↑
  22. ↑
  23. ↑
  24. ↑
  25. ↑
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1
  28. ↑
  29. ↑
  30. ↑
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Constitution of Syria". Retrieved 22 October 2008.
  36. ↑ "Freedom House report on Syria (2010)" (PDF). Freedom House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  37. ↑ "Syria among worst for rights abuses: HRW report". Reuters. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  38. ↑ Syria – Overview. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  39. ↑ "Syria – travel guides at Wikivoyage". Wikivoyage.org. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  40. ↑ CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Archived 2009-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Population 1971–2008 IEA pdf Archived 2012-01-06 at the Wayback Machine pages 83–85
  41. ↑ "UNData app". data.un.org. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
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