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Economy - overview:
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Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.6% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 27%
industry: 23%
services: 50% (2000 est.)
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Population below poverty line:
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15%-25%
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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0.9% (2002 est.)
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Labor force:
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5.2 million (2000 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture, industry, services NA (2002)
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Unemployment rate:
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20% (2002 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.)
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Industries:
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petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA%
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Electricity - production:
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23.26 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 57.6%
hydro: 42.4%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity - consumption:
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21.63 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Oil - production:
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522,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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265,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001)
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001)
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Oil - proved reserves:
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2.4 billion bbl (37257)
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Natural gas - production:
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5.84 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption:
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5.84 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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240.7 billion cu m (37257)
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
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Exports:
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$6.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.)
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Exports - partners:
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Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002)
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Imports:
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$4.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.)
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Imports - partners:
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Italy 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, South Korea 4.8%, France 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (2002)
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Debt - external:
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$22 billion (2002 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$199 million (1997 est.)
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Currency:
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Syrian pound (SYP)
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Currency code:
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SYP
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Exchange rates:
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Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), 11.23 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998)
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year
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