Syria

35°N 38°E / 35°N 38°E / 35; 38

Syrian Arab Republic اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْسُوْرِيَّة (Arabic) al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Sūriyyah
Flag[a] Coat of arms[b]
Anthem: فِي سَبِيلِ المجد Fī Sabīli al-Majd "In Pursuit of Glory" (de facto)[1] حُمَاةَ الدَّيَّارِ Ḥumāt ad-Diyār "Guardians of the Homeland" (de jure)[c]
Controlled territory shown in dark green; Syria's claim over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shown in light greenShow globe Show map of Syria
Status	UN member state under a transitional government
Capital and largest city	Damascus 33°30′N 36°18′E / 33.500°N 36.300°E / 33.500; 36.300
Languages	Arabic[d] (Levantine Arabic) Kurdish (Kurmanji)[e] Syrian Turkish[f] Neo-Aramaic (Turoyo)[g] Other
Ethnic groups (2021)[3][4][5][6][7]	80–90% Arabs 9–10% Kurds 1–10% others
Religion (2024)[8][9]	94.17% Islam 79.19% Sunni 14.10% Shia (including Alawism) 2.5% Christianity 1.99% other
Demonym(s)	Syrian
Government	Transitional government
• President	Ahmed al-Sharaa
• Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir
Legislature	Interim Legislative Council
Establishment
• Arab Kingdom of Syria	8 March 1920
• State of Syria under French mandate	1 December 1924
• First Syrian Republic	14 May 1930
• End of the French mandate	17 April 1946
• Part of the United Arab Republic	22 February 1958 – 28 September 1961
• Beginning of Ba'athist rule	8 March 1963
• Ba'athist regime overthrown and transitional government established	8 December 2024
Area
• Total	185,180[10] km2 (71,500 sq mi) (87th)
• Water (%)	1.1
Population
• 2025 estimate	25,255,139[11][12] (57th)
• Density	118.3/km2 (306.4/sq mi) (70th)
GDP (PPP)	2021 estimate
• Total	$50.28 billion[13]
• Per capita	$3,300[13]
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$9.8 billion[13]
• Per capita	$800
Gini (2022)	26.6[14] low
HDI (2022)	0.557[15] medium · 157th
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone	UTC+3 (Arabia Standard Time)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+963
ISO 3166 code	SY
Internet TLD	.sy سوريا.

Syria officially the Syrian Arab Republic, 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. The religious makeup of Syria is 74% Sunni, 11% Alawite, 10% Christian, 3% Druze, 1% Ismaili Shia 0.4% Twelver Shia and 0.1% Yazidi.^[16]
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1. ↑ https://almashhad.com/article/773112298002792-News/191647995589717-%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF/
2. ↑ Behnstedt, Peter (2008). "Syria". In Versteegh, Kees; Eid, Mushira; Elgibali, Alaa; Woidich, Manfred; Zaborski, Andrzej (eds.). Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Vol. 4. Brill Publishers. p. 402. ISBN 978-90-04-14476-7.
3. ↑ "Syria: People and society". The World Factbook. CIA. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
4. ↑ "Syria (10/03)".
5. ↑ "Syria's Religious, Ethnic Groups". 20 December 2012.
6. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Khalifa2013 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
7. ↑ Shoup, John A. (2018), The History of Syria, ABC-CLIO, p. 6, ISBN 978-1440858352, Syria has several other ethnic groups, the Kurds... they make up an estimated 9 percent...Turkomen comprise around 4-5 percent of the total population. The rest of the ethnic mix of Syria is made of Assyrians (about 4 percent), Armenians (about 2 percent), and Circassians (about 1 percent).
8. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :4 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
9. ↑ "Why Syria's reconstruction may depend on the fate of its minorities". 18 December 2024.
10. ↑ "Syrian ministry of foreign affairs". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012.
11. ↑ "Syria Population". Datacommons.org. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
12. ↑ https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/syria-population/
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} "Syria". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
14. ↑ "World Bank GINI index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
15. ↑ "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
16. ↑ "Religion in Syria - 1943 Syrian Census". Retrieved 8 January 2024.