Syria

35°N 38°E / 35°N 38°E / 35; 38

Syria ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ (Arabic) Sūrīyah
Flags[1][2][3][4] Coat of arms
Location of  Syria  (green) Show globe Show map of Syria
Capital and largest city	Damascus 33°30′N 36°18′E / 33.500°N 36.300°E / 33.500; 36.300
Recognised languages	Kurdish Syriac French English Turkish Aramaic Armenian Circassian Azerbaijani
Major languages	Arabic Kurdish
Minor languages	Syriac 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
• De facto leader	Abu Mohammed Al-Julani
• Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir
Legislature	Vacant
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)	0.567[10] medium · 151st
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+963
ISO 3166 code	SY
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]

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.