# Syria — national dossier

Syria — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each with…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/SYR
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Syrian Arab Republic
- Capital: Damascus
- Region: Western Asia, Asia
- Population: 18 m
- Area: 185,180 km²
- Languages: Arabic
- Currency: Syrian pound (SYP)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $24 B | 2022 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $1,057 | 2022 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | -0.2% | 2022 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | 13.4% | 2019 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 35.4% | 2022 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 26 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 72.6 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 72.1% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 2.7 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 94.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 24.5 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 25.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 18.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 23.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 25.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 13.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 2.7% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 1.52 | 2021 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 18.4 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 81.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 94.4% | 2021 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 5.1% | 2009 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 81.4% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 38.7% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 43.8% | 2016 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.0% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Researchers (per million) | 140 | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 33.8% | 2018 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 71 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 1.4% | 2010 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 183,630 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 2.8% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 74.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.3 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 1.1% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 6.4% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 4.0% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 89.3% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Phosphate rock | 800 kt | 2025 | Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 4.1% | 2010 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Defense spending | $2.5 B | 2011 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 269,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:SYR:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/SYR.claims.json

History: "From Ebla and Ugarit's first alphabet to the Umayyad caliphate and a republic remade in 2024." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/SYR/chronicle.md (6 eras, 22 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Syria — national dossier", terralore.co/country/SYR, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.
