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Syrian Arab Republic
National name: Al-Jamhouriya al Arabiya As-Souriya
President: Bashar al-Assad (2000)
Prime Minister: Muhammad Naji al-Otari (2003)
Area: 71,498 sq mi (185,180 sq km)
Note: We give
the information above in the Christian Personals Primer
so that you will have a little background on the country before
you contact a perspective mate, just in case you don't know the
basics. Perhaps this info will give you something to talk about
Population (2004 est.): 18,016,874 (growth rate: 2.4%);
birth rate: 28.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 30.6/1000; life
expectancy: 69.7; density per sq mi: 252
Capital (2003 est.): Damascus, 2,381,800
(metro. area), 1,861,900
Largest cities: Aleppo, 2,492,100 (metro. area),
1,933,700 (city proper); Homs, 751,500; Latakia, 417,100; Hama,
380,200
Monetary unit: Syrian pound
Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish,
Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English
somewhat understood
Ethnicity/race: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians,
and other 9.7%
Religions: Islam (Sunni) 74%; Alawite, Druze,
and other Islamic sects 16%; Christian (various sects) 10%;
Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Literacy rate: 77% (2003 est.)
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.313
million (1997); mobile cellular: n.a. Radio broadcast
stations: AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios:
4.15 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 44
(plus 17 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 1.05 million
(1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000). Internet
users: 60,000 (2002). |