Syria - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

35°N 38°E / 35°N 38°E / 35; 38

Syrian Arab Republic ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ (Arabic) al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: وَحْدَةٌ ، حُرِّيَّةٌ ، اِشْتِرَاكِيَّةٌ Waḥdah, Ḥurrīyah, Ishtirākīyah ("Unity, Freedom, Socialism")
Anthem: حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ Ḥumāt ad-Diyār ("Guardians of the Homeland")
Location of  Syria  (green) Show globe Show map of Syria
Capital and largest city	Damascus 33°30′N 36°18′E / 33.500°N 36.300°E / 33.500; 36.300
Official languages	Arabic[1]
Recognised languages	Kurdish Armenian Syriac Circassian Aramaic Turkish French English Azerbaijani
Ethnic groups (2014[2])	90% Arab 10% Other
Religion	87% Islam 2% Christianity[3] 3% Druze[4]
Demonym(s)	Syrian
Government	Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential Ba’athist republic under an authoritarian hereditary dictatorship[5]
• President	Bashar al-Assad
• Prime Minister	Hussein Arnous
• Vice Presidents	Farouk al-Sharaa Najah al-Attar
• Speaker of the People's Council	Hammouda Sabbagh
Legislature	People's Council
Establishment
• Arab Kingdom of Syria	8 March 1920
• State of Syria under French mandate	1 December 1924
• Syrian Republic	14 May 1930
• De jure Independence	24 October 1945
• De facto Independence	17 April 1946
• Left the United Arab Republic	28 September 1961
• Ba'ath party takes power	8 March 1963
• Current constitution	27 February 2012
Area
• Total	185,180[6] km2 (71,500 sq mi) (87th)
• Water (%)	1.1
Population
• 2020 estimate	17,500,657 (66th)
• 2010 census	21,018,834
• Density	118.3/km2 (306.4/sq mi) (70th)
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
• Total	$50.28 billion[3]
• Per capita	$2,900[3]
GDP (nominal)	2014 estimate
• Total	$24.6 billion[3] (167)
• Per capita	$831[3]
Gini (2014)	55.8[7] high
HDI (2019)	0.567[8] medium · 151st
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+963
ISO 3166 code	SY
Internet TLD	.sy سوريا.

Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders (from south to north) on Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea and it shares a maritime border with Cyprus. Its eastern and northern parts are mountainous.

The current president and head of state is Bashar al-Assad. Syria's national capital is Damascus. The biggest city is Aleppo. The Syrian civil war began in 2011.

The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi Shia, 10% Christian, 3% Druze, 1% Ismaili Shia 0.4% Twelver Shia, and 0.1% Yazidi.^[9]

Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians. Later it became part of the Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and then the Eastern Roman Empire. In those days people spoke the Syriac language. The city Antioch was great and one of the important cities in Christendom. The Umayyad Caliphate took control of Syria in the 7th century. In this Arab Empire people began to speak the Arabic language. Today most Syrian people believe in Islam but there are still Christians too.

When World War I started, the Ottoman Empire ruled Syria and many other places. When it ended, France controlled Lebanon and Syria. Britain had Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. They drew a border between Iraq and Syria in 1920. France controlled Syria until 1946 when Syria became its own country.^[10]

Syria was part of the United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958-1961. Syria had some wars with Israel and some territories like the Golan Plateau were occupied by Israel.

In 2011 with the Arab Spring a bloody civil war began against President Bashar al-Assad.

Kurdish people control a small part of the northern region called Rojava.

It is also known as Western Kurdistan.

Syria is between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. It is mostly arid plateau. The area bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east.

The climate in Syria is dry and hot. Winters are mild.

Syria is a republic. The old Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971.^[11] It made Syria as a secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution has been in place since 2012.

The executive branch is the president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution says the president must be a Muslim.^[11] It does not make Islam the state religion. According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by the Syrian people in a direct election.

The People's Council is the legislative branch.

Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.^[12]

Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.^[13] The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, censor websites, detain bloggers, and have travel bans.

Syria has fourteen Governorates, or muhafazat. The governorates are divided into sixty districts. The governorates are:

• Al Hasakah
• Al Ladhiqiyah
• Al Qunaytirah
• Ar Raqqah
• As Suwayda
• Dara
• Dayr az Zawr
• Dimashq
• Halab
• Hama
• Homs
• Idlib
• Rif Dimashq
• Tartus

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces. There are about 400,000 troops. Ethnic Kurds have their own army called YPG. The Males must go in the military when they are age 18.^[14]

Syria is a middle-income country. The economy is based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism.

Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia). They are hubs for Syrian Air. Foreign airlines also fly to them.^[15] Most Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens, the Syrian railway company.

Most people live in the Euphrates valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert.

Education is free from ages 6 to 12. All children this age must attend school.

The most popular sports in Syria are football, basketball, swimming, and tennis. Damascus was home to the fifth and seventh Pan Arab Games. Many popular football teams are based in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia.

• List of rivers of Syria
• Syria at the Olympics
• Syria national football team

Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Syria