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Syria GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION
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Figure 4. Physical Features
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Figure 5. Population Distribution by Age and Sex, 1985
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Figure 6. Population Distribution, 1981 Census
Throughout its history, Syria's political and economic
importance has been largely attributable to its position at the
crossroads of three continents and several cultures. Because of
its strategic geographic location, Syria continues to be a focus
of transit trade among many countries of the Middle East and to
be a vital factor in Arab politics and in Arab-Israeli
hostilities.
The area includes about 185,180 square kilometers of deserts,
plains, and mountains. It is divided into a coastal zone--with a
narrow, double mountain belt enclosing a depression in the west--
and a much larger eastern plateau. The climate is predominantly
dry; about three-fifths of the country has less than 25
centimeters of rain a year. Fertile land is the nation's most
important natural resource, and efforts have been made, and in
the 1980s were continuing, to increase the amount of arable land
through irrigation projects
(see Agriculture
, ch. 3).
In mid-1986, the population was estimated at 10.6 million,
including beduin and Palestinian refugees, and was increasing at
an annual rate of approximately 3.3 percent a year. The Syrian
government encourages population increase, even though it tends
to offset improvements in the national standard of living. In the
mid-1980s, double-digit inflation cut real income and eroded some
of the gains in standard of living achieved in the late 1970s.
Despite austerity budgets, the government boosted annual price
subsidies for essential commodities to a total of LS 1.4 billion
and continued to maintain a safety net of health, welfare, and
public housing services.
Social welfare and development projects have been
concentrated in rural areas. Although in 1970 only 10 percent of
rural dwellers had access to electricity, by the mid-1980s
electricity had been brought to virtually every village. However,
progress lagged in providing sewage disposal, potable water, and
health facilities to rural areas. City-dwellers benefited from
the proximity of medical, transportation, and educational
facilities, but suffered from a severe housing shortage. In
addition, municipal services such as sanitation were inadequate
for the rapidly increasing urban population.
Increasing government responsibility in the field of social
welfare has been consistent with the program of the Baath Party
to create a socialist society. Official initiative in economic
and social improvements has been reflected in substantial
allocations set aside for these purposes in development plans.
However, government-financed projects designed to bring about
these improvements tend to be delayed because of frequent cabinet
changes and shifting emphases within development budgets.
The principle of linking long-term economic development to
social welfare has been voiced in official statements, calling
for a better geographic distribution of industrial production and
social services, accompanying development plans. Persistent
welfare problems, however, arising from rural poverty and urban
crowding, and compounded by rapid population growth and the
influx of refugees, often necessitate the diversion of funds
earmarked for long-term planning to ad hoc relief measures.
Data as of April 1987
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