Syria

THE SYRIAN ARAB Republic is located in one of the most volatile areas of the world. Syria's closest neighbors are Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, and Iraq, and the history and economy of Syria are closely interwoven with [Page 1051]those countries. For almost 40 years, Syria has maintained a military presence in Lebanon in the face of international objections. In the summer of 2005, Israel accused Syria of test-firing Scud missiles in retaliation for continued American pressure to withdraw from Lebanon. Since the 1990s, Syria and Israel have met periodically to discuss the return of the Golan Heights area, which was taken over by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, but no consensus has been achieved.

The war in Iraq and the general turmoil in the Middle East have played havoc with the Syrian economy. Declining oil production and exports, industrial expansion, water shortages, and pollution of available water sources have also taken a toll. Nearly a third of the labor force is involved in agriculture, and the rest are engaged in services (43 percent) and industry (27 percent). Moderate reforms have been directed at slashing interest rates, creating private banks, raising prices on a number of subsidized foodstuffs, and consolidating exchange rates.

With an annual per capita income of $3,400, Syria is a severely indebted, lower-middle-income nation. Both poverty and unemployment stand at 20 percent. The social net provided for the Syrian poor covers fe-male-headed families, families with disabled children, and the elderly. International programs also provide aid to needy Syrians.

General health in Syria is threatened by the lack of potable water and by the severe water pollution that has resulted from improper disposal of raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes. As a result, one-fifth of the population lacks access to safe drinking water. Half that number lack access to proper sanitation. There are 142 physicians for every 100,000 residents. Around 20 percent of Syrians are unable to afford essential drugs.

Over the past decades, life expectancy has steadily increased for both males and females. Life expectancy rose from 60 percent for males and 63 percent for females in 1980 to 68.75 percent for males and 71.38 for females in 2004. The median age in Syria is 20.37 years. Over 37 percent of the population are under the age of 14, and 3.3 percent have seen a 65th birthday.

Infant mortality has been significantly decreased in Syria over the last decades. Between 1970 and 2005, infant mortality declined from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births to 23 per 1,000. The drop in mortality among children under the age of 5 has been even more dramatic, plunging from 129 per 1,000 in 1970 to 18 per 1,000 in 2003. Approximately 18 percent of all children under 5 are malnourished, and six percent of babies are underweight at birth.

About 18 percent of under-5s are moderately to severely stunted, and four percent are moderately to severely wasted. Childhood immunizations are almost universal in Syria, ranging from 98 to 99 percent among children from birth to 23 months old. The country has been free of polio since 1995.

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