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Syria GEOGRAPHY
Size: About 185,180 square kilometers.
Topography: Country consists of coastal zone divided by
narrow double mountain range from large eastern region that
includes various mountain ranges, large desert regions, and
Euphrates River basin.
SOCIETY
Population: Approximately 10.6 million in 1986,
including about 250,000 Palestinian refugees. Growth rate
estimated at about 3.7 percent per year, one of the world's
highest.
Education: Nearly full enrollment in compulsory
tuition-free public schools at primary level. School system
consists of six years of primary, three years of lower secondary,
and three years of upper secondary education. Four major
universities and various teacher-training and vocational
institutes, all government owned and operated. Adult literacy
rate estimated at over 60 percent.
Health: Gastrointestinal ailments, trachoma, and
infectious diseases prevalent; considerable progress has been
made in control of malaria. Severe shortage of medical and
paramedical personnel.
Languages: Official language, Arabic, mother tongue of
about 90 percent of population, understood by most others.
Kurdish (Kirmanji), Armenian, Turkic, and Syriac spoken by
minorities; French and English spoken by educated elites in major
urban areas.
Religion: Estimated 85 percent of population adheres to
some form of Islam. About 13 to 15 percent of Muslims are
Alawis (see Glossary);
less than 1 percent,
Shias (see Glossary); and
remainder,
Sunnis (see Glossary). About 10 percent of population
observes some form of Christianity, and about 3 percent are
Druzes (see Glossary). Small numbers of Jews, Yazidis, and
others.
Data as of April 1987
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