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Syria Density, Distribution, and Settlement
Syria is one of the most densely populated countries in the
Middle East and in 1986 had an overall average population density
of approximately 57 persons per square kilometer. There were
considerable regional variations, however. Along Syria's
Mediterranean coastline, the population density sometimes
exceeded 68 per square kilometer, but along the parallel inland
axis between the Jordanian and Turkish borders, and in the
vicinity of the Euphrates and Khabur River valleys, population
density averaged only about 20 per square kilometer; desert areas
were virtually uninhabited.
Urbanization is progressing at a rapid rate, but the
explosive urban growth of the 1960s had tapered off by the 1980s.
Rural to urban migration, the lower mortality rates of urban
groups, and the influx of refugees contributed to precipitous
growth in the major cities. However, the administrative
incorporation of rural areas adjacent to some urban centers has
inflated some growth figures. Between 1960 and 1970, Syria's
urban population increased by between 50 and 57 percent. Between
1970 and 1980, cities grew by approximately 40 percent. In 1981,
an estimated 47 percent of the population lived in urban areas.
Although nearly one in four Syrian citizens lived in either
Damascus or Aleppo, a significant part of the urban population
was distributed relatively evenly among a half dozen other major
cities.
Damascus is growing at an annual rate of 5 percent. The last
official census, in 1981, calculated its population at 1.1
million, and its 1986 population was estimated at 1.4 million,
13.2 percent of Syria's population. Aleppo, Syria's second
largest city, had a population in 1986 of approximately 1.2
million. Between 1970 and 1981, the population of Damascus
increased by 26 percent. However, during the same period, cities
in eastern Syria and the coastal region grew at two to three
times the rate of Damascus. For example, Ar Raqqah grew by 81
percent, Al Hasakah by 77 percent, and Tartus by 53 percent.
Syria appears to have avoided the growth pattern of other
developing nations in which the majority of the population is
concentrated in one or two cities.
Data as of April 1987
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