1971); Vice Presidents ‘Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, Dr. Rif‘at al-ASSAD, and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Mahmud ZU‘BI (since 1 November 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984)
Political parties and leaders: ruling party is the Arab Socialist Resurrectionist (Ba‘th) Party; the Progressive National Front is dominated by Ba‘thists but includes independents and members of the Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP), Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Socialist Unionist Movement, and Syrian Communist Party (SCP)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President—last held 10-11 February 1985 (next to be held February 1992); results—President Hafiz al-Assad was reelected without opposition;
People's Council—last held 10-11 February
1986 (next to be held 22 May 1990);
results—Ba‘th 66%, ASU 5%, SCP 5%,
Socialist Unionist Movement 4%, ASP
2%, independents 18%; seats—(195 total)
Ba‘th 129, Communist 9, ASU 9, Socialiist
Unionist Movement 8, ASP 5, independents
35; the People's Council will have
250 seats total in the 22 May 1990
election
Communists: mostly sympathizers, numbering about 5,000
Other political or pressure groups: non-Ba‘th parties have little effective political influence; Communist party ineffective; greatest threat to Assad regime lies in factionalism in the military; conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood
Member of: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Minister-Counselor, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Bushra KANAFANI; Chancery at 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-6313; US Ambassador Edward P. DJEREJIAN; Embassy at Abu Rumaneh, Al Mansur Street No.2, Damascus (mailing address is P. O. Box 29, Damascus); telephone [963](11) 333052 or 332557, 330416, 332814, 332315
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star and Iraq which has three stars (in a horizontal line centered in the white band) all green and five-pointed; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
Economy
Overview: Syria's rigidly structured
Ba‘thist economy is turning out roughly
the same amount of goods in 1989 as in
1983, when the population was 20%
smaller. Economic difficulties are attributable,
in part, to severe drought in several
recent years, costly but unsuccessful
attempts to match Israel's military strength,
a falloff in Arab aid, and insufficient
foreign exchange earnings to buy needed
inputs for industry and agriculture. Socialist
policy, embodied in a thicket of bureaucratic
regulations, in many instances has
driven away or pushed underground the
mercantile and entrepreneurial spirit for
which Syrian businessmen have long been
famous. Two bright spots: a sizable number
of villagers have benefited from land
redistribution, electrification, and other
rural development programs; and a recent
find of light crude oil has enabled Syria to
cut back its substantial imports of light
crude. A long-term concern is the
additional drain of upstream Euphrates water
by Turkey when its vast dam and irrigation
projects are completed toward the
end of the 1990s.
GDP: $18.5 billion, per capita $1,540; real growth rate -2% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.92 billion (1989)
Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities—petroleum, textiles, fruits and vegetables, phosphates; partners—Italy, Romania, USSR, US, Iran, France
Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities—petroleum, machinery, base metals, foodstuffs and beverages; partners—Iran, FRG, USSR, France, GDR, Libya, US
External debt: $5.3 billion in hard currency (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 2,867,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced, 500 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 27% of GDP and one-third of labor force; all major crops (wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas) grown on rainfed land causing wide swings in yields; animal products—beef, lamb, eggs, poultry, milk; not self-sufficient in grain or livestock products
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $538 million; Western (non-US) ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $3.3 billion
Currency: Syrian pound (plural—pounds); 1 Syrian pound (£S) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Syrian pounds (£S) per US$1—11.2250 (fixed rate since 1987), 3.9250 (fixed rate 1976-87)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 2,241 km total; 1,930 km standard
gauge, 311 km 1.050-meter narrow
gauge; note—the Tartus-Latakia line is
nearly complete
Highways: 27,000 km total; 21,000 km paved, 3,000 km gravel or crushed stone, 3,000 km improved earth
Inland waterways: 672 km; of little economic importance
Pipelines: 1,304 km crude oil; 515 km refined products
Ports: Tartus, Latakia, Baniyas
Merchant marine: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 53,938 GRT/72,220 DWT; includes 16 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 bulk
Civil air: 35 major transport aircraft
Airports: 97 total, 94 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement; 512,600 telephones; stations—9 AM, 1 FM, 40 TV; satellite earth stations 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station, with 1 Intersputnik station under construction; 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon (inactive)
Defense Forces
Branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian
Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Navy
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,712,360; 1,520,798 fit for military service; 144,791 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
