Where is Syria?
About Syria
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Syria is an above average size country in the west of Asia.
Syria has a border on the Mediterranean Sea.
The land is mainly desert with mountains in the west.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Syria, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 35 00N
Longitude - 38 00E
Check the weather in Damascus now.
This is the time in Damascus now
The Syrian flag is 3 equal horizontal
stripes of red, on the top, white and black. Two green 5-pointed stars in a horizontal line are centred on the white stripe.
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Syria to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Syria is 183,630 sq kms which is the 25th largest in Asia.
Syria has lakes, rivers and canals which total 1,550 sq kms.
Syria has boundaries with 5 countries
Syria has a coastline of 193 kms which is the 33rd longest in Asia.
The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon at 2,814 metres.
The total population of Syria is 17.19 million people, making it the 26th largest country in Asia by population.
Of this number 8.55 million are females and 8.64 million are males.
A person from Syria is called a Syrian.
To be a citizen of Syria, your father must be a citizen of Syria. If the father is unknown or stateless then the mother must be a citizen of Syria. It is not sufficient to be born in Syria. You have to live in Syria for
10 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Syria, by population are:-
The birth rate in Syria is 21.7 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Syria is 4.0 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 12.8 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 17.5 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 24.8 and for males is 23.9. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 7.0. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 14.3. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Syria spends 3.3% of its total income on health care.
There are 1.46 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
27.8% of the population are estimated as obese.
92.3% of the urban population and 87.2% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
96.2% of the urban population and 95.1% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Syria spends 5.1% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Syria. Primary education is for four years until age 10 and secondary education must continue till 15 but can go on to 18/19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
We are awaiting information about school terms in Syria.
81.0% of females and 91.7% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
35.8% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 71.1% are unemployed while with males 26.6% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Syria is 3.77 million.
They work in the following sectors.
There are 29 paved airports in Syria, which is the 23rd highest number in Asia.
There are 2,052 kilometres of railways in Syria, the 21st longest in Asia.
There are 63,060 kilometres of roads in Syria, which means Syria is in 15th place for the most kilometres of roads in Asia.