Syria - Demographics

Capital - Damascus

Official languages - Arabic

Other common languages - Aramaic, Armenian, Kurdish, Turkmen

Demonym - Syrian

Government Presidential single party republic under Emergency Law since 1963
- President Bashar al-Assad
- Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari
- Speaker of Parliament Mahmoud al-Abrash

Establishment
-Independence from France
- First declaration September 1936
- Second declaration 1 January 1944
- Recognized 17 April 1946

Area
- Total 185,180 km2 (88th)
- 71,479 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.06

Population
- 2009 estimate 21,906,000[1] (54th)
- Density 118.3/km2 (101st)
- 306.5/sq mi

Currency Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone EET (UTC+2) - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .sy
Calling code +963

Syria officially the Syrian Arab Republic is an Arab country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north.

The name Syria, formerly comprised the entire region of the Levant, while the modern state encompasses the site of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, was the seat of the Umayyad Empire and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Empire. Damascus is widely regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Modern Syria was created as a French mandate and attained independence in April 1946, as a parliamentary republic. The post-independence period was rocky, and a large number of military coups and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949-1970. Syria has been under Emergency Law since 1962, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens. The country has been governed by the Baath Party since 1963, although actual power is concentrated to the presidency and a narrow grouping of military and political strongmen. Syria's current president is Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, who held office from 1970 until his death in 2000. Syria has played a major regional role, particularly through its central role in the Arab conflict with Israel, which since 1967 has occupied the Golan Heights, and by active involvement in Lebanese and Palestinian affairs.

The population is mainly Sunni Muslim, but with significant Alawi, Druze and Christian minorities. Since the 1960s, Alawite military officers have tended to dominate the country's politics. Ethnically, some 90% of the population is Arab, and the state is ruled by the Baath Party according to Arab nationalist principles, while approximately 10% belong to the Kurdish minority.

courtesy : wikipedia