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Syria

Syria Government Stats

Summary:

Bashar al-Assad

Definitions

  • Administrative divisions: This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.
  • Basis of executive legitimacy: Basis of executive legitimacy.

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Capital > Geographic coordinates: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Capital > Name: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Capital > Time difference: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Capital city: The location of the seat of government.
  • Capital city > Geographic coordinates: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Capital city > Name: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Civil law system: Description.

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Constitution: The dates of adoption, revisions, and major amendments to a nation's constitution
  • Constitutional form: Constitutional form of government.
  • Country name > Conventional long form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Country name > Conventional short form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Country name > Local long form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Country name > Local short form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006: The Status Index’s overall result represents the mean value of the scores for the dimensions “Political Transformationâ€? and “Economic Transformationâ€?. The mean value was calculated using the exact, unrounded values for both these dimensions, which, in turn, were derived from the ratings for the five political criteria (based on 18 indicators) and the seven economic criteria (based on 14 indicators). The table shows rounded scores for political and economic transformation as well as for the Status Index’s overall result. In some cases, therefore, the overall result differs slightly from the mean value.
  • Democracy > Civil and political liberties: Civil and political liberties
    Units: Index Ranging from 7 (High Levels of Liberties) to 1 (Low
    Units: This is the average of two indicators - civil liberties and political liberties.
  • Democracy > Democratic institutions rating: Democratic institutions
    Units: Scale ranging from -10 (autocratic) to +10 (democratic)
  • Democracy > First female parliamentarian: Year first woman elected or appointed to parliament.
  • Democracy and rights > Freedom of the press: Compares countries by freedom of the press. The lower the score, the more free the press of that country is. The scores are taken from the Freedom of the Press Index, elaborated by Freedom House, self-defined as "an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world". The data used in the index come from an annual survey of media independence in 197 countries and territories, assessing the degree of print, broadcast, and internet freedom in each of them.
  • Democracy and rights > Press freedom index: Compares countries by their degree of government censorship, according to the Press freedom index. This index, created by the non-governmental organization Reporters without borders (RWS), is ellaborated using data from an extensive annual survey sent to professional reporters throughout the world. The survey contains questions about the type and ownership of media present in the country, freedom of speech, violence exerted against reporters, election campaigns, access of political parties to the media, etc.
  • Democracy and rights > Year women first voted at national level: Year women first voted at national level.
  • Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery: This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery, telephone, FAX, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission: This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery, telephone, FAX, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
  • Executive branch > Cabinet: Cabinet includes the official name for any body of high-ranking advisers roughly comparable to a U.S. Cabinet. Also notes the method for selection of members.
  • Executive branch > Chief of state: The name and title of any person or role roughly equivalent to a U.S. Chief of State. This means the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government
  • Executive branch > Election results: Election results includes the percent of vote for each candidate in the last election (if any)
  • Executive branch > Elections: Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election
  • Executive branch > Head of government: Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government.
  • Executive branch > Note: This entry includes several subfields. Chief of state includes the name and title of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government. Cabinet includes the official name for this body of high-ranking advisers and the method for selection of members. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote for each candidate in the last election.
  • Flag description: A written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
  • Foreign relations > Date of recognition of Israel: Date on which Israel was officially recognized as a state. Note that some countries had a “de facto” recognition in place long before the legal recognition.
  • General government final > Consumption expenditure > Current US$: General government final consumption expenditure (formerly general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
  • General government final > Consumption expenditure > Current US$ > Per capita: General government final consumption expenditure (formerly general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Per capita figures expressed per 1 population.
  • Government type: A description of the basic form of government (e.g., republic, constitutional monarchy, federal republic, parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship).
  • Independence: For most countries, this entry gives the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form of government, or state succession. Dependent areas include the notation "none" followed by the nature of their dependency status. "
  • International law organization participation: This entry includes information on a country's acceptance of jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and of the International Criminal Court (ICCt); 55 countries have accepted ICJ jurisdiction with reservations and 11 have accepted ICJ jurisdiction without reservations; 114 countries have accepted ICCt jurisdiction. Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups explains the differing mandates of the ICJ and ICCt.
  • International organization participation: This entry lists in alphabetical order by abbreviation those international organizations in which the subject country is a member or participates in some other way.
  • Judicial branch: The name(s) of the highest court(s) and a brief description of the selection process for members.
  • Judicial branch > Judge selection and term of office: This entry is derived from Government > Judicial branch, which includes three subfields. The highest court(s) subfield includes the name(s) of a country's highest level court(s), the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law. A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing judges, and a brief description of the process. The selection process can be indicative of the independence of a country's court system from other branches of its government. Also included in this subfield are judges' tenures, which can range from a few years, to a specified retirement age, to lifelong appointments. The subordinate courts subfield lists the courts lower in the hierarchy of a country's court system. A few countries with federal-style governments, such as Brazil, Canada, and the US, in addition to their federal court, have separate state- or province-level court systems, though generally the two systems interact.
  • Judicial branch > Subordinate courts: This entry is derived from Government > Judicial branch, which includes three subfields. The highest court(s) subfield includes the name(s) of a country's highest level court(s), the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law. A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing judges, and a brief description of the process. The selection process can be indicative of the independence of a country's court system from other branches of its government. Also included in this subfield are judges' tenures, which can range from a few years, to a specified retirement age, to lifelong appointments. The subordinate courts subfield lists the courts lower in the hierarchy of a country's court system. A few countries with federal-style governments, such as Brazil, Canada, and the US, in addition to their federal court, have separate state- or province-level court systems, though generally the two systems interact.
  • Leaders > President: Government > Leaders > President
  • Legal origin: Legal origin identifies the origin of the Company Law or Commercial Code in each country
  • Legal system: A brief description of the legal system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
  • Legislative branch: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • Legislative branch > Election results: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • Legislative branch > Elections: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • National anthem: A generally patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition. Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not.
  • National holiday: The primary national day of celebration - often independence day.
  • National symbol(s): A national symbol is a faunal, floral, or other abstract representation - or some distinctive object - that over time has come to be closely identified with a country or entity. Not all countries have national symbols; a few countries have more than one.
  • Parliament > Seats held by men: Number of seats held by men in country's naitonal parliament or legislative houses.
  • Parliament > Seats held by women: Number of seats held by women in country's parliament or legislative houses.
  • Parliament > Seats held by women > Percentage: Percentage of seats held by women in country's national parliament or legislative houses.
  • Political parties and leaders: Significant political organizations and their leaders.
  • Political pressure groups and leaders: Organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing for legislative election.
  • Politics: Country politics.
  • Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament: Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber occupied by women.
  • Red tape > Burden of customs procedure, WEF > 1=extremely inefficient to 7=extremely efficient: Burden of customs procedure, WEF (1=extremely inefficient to 7=extremely efficient). Burden of Customs Procedure measures business executives' perceptions of their country's efficiency of customs procedures. The rating ranges from 1 to 7, with a higher score indicating greater efficiency. Data are from the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey, conducted for 30 years in collaboration with 150 partner institutes. The 2009 round included more than 13,000 respondents from 133 countries. Sampling follows a dual stratification based on company size and the sector of activity. Data are collected online or through in-person interviews. Responses are aggregated using sector-weighted averaging. The data for the latest year are combined with the data for the previous year to create a two-year moving average. Respondents evaluated the efficiency of customs procedures in their country. The lowest score (1) rates the customs procedure as extremely inefficient, and the highest score (7) as extremely efficient.
  • Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number: Procedures to build a warehouse (number). Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers.
  • Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number: Start-up procedures to register a business (number). Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production.
  • Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million: Start-up procedures to register a business (number). Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days: Time required to get electricity (days). Time required to get electricity is the number of days to obtain a permanent electricity connection. The measure captures the median duration that the electricity utility and experts indicate is necessary in practice, rather than required by law, to complete a procedure.
  • Red tape > Time required to register property > Days: Time required to register property (days). Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property.
  • Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days: Time required to start a business (days). Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Red tape > Time to resolve insolvency > Years: Time to resolve insolvency (years). Time to resolve insolvency is the number of years from the filing for insolvency in court until the resolution of distressed assets.
  • Suffrage: The age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted
  • Time required to start a business > Days: Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Transnational Issues > Disputes > International: This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
  • Transnational Issues > Illicit drugs: This entry gives information on the five categories of illicit drugs - narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside of medical channels.
    Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).
    Coca (mostly Erythroxylum coca) is a bush with leaves that contain the stimulant used to make cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter.
    Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.
    Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone (Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid).
    Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.
    Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an individual.
    Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot), mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).
    Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
    Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.
    Mandrax is a trade name for methaqualone, a pharmaceutical depressant.
    Marijuana is the dried leaf of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
    Methaqualone is a pharmaceutical depressant, referred to as mandrax in Southwest Asia and Africa.
    Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol with codeine, Empirin with codeine, Robitussin AC), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics ...
    Full definition
  • Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons > IDPs: This entry is derived from Government > Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons, which includes those persons residing in a country as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). Each country's refugee entry includes only countries of origin that are the source of refugee populations of 5,000 or more. The definition of a refugee according to a United Nations Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution." The UN established the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 to handle refugee matters worldwide. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has a different operational definition for a Palestinian refugee: "a person whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." However, UNHCR also assists some 400,000 Palestinian refugees not covered under the UNRWA definition. The term "internally displaced person" is not specifically covered in the UN Convention; it is used to describe people who have fled their homes for reasons similar to refugees, but who remain within their own national territory and are subject to the laws of that state.
    Additional details:
    • Algeria: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2012)
    • Bangladesh: undetermined (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2012)
    • Burma: more than 454,200 (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand) (2012)
    • Guatemala: undetermined (the UN does not estimate there are any IDPs, although some NGOs estimate over 200,000 IDPs as a result of over three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996) (2007)
    • Guatemala: undetermined (more than three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996 displaced mainly the indigenous Maya population and rural peasants; ongoing drug cartel and gang violence) (2011)
    • India: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007)
    • India: at least 540,000 (about 250,000 are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2012)
    • Kenya: at least 300,000 (2007-08 post-election ...
      Full definition
  • Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons > IDPs per thousand people: This entry is derived from Government > Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons, which includes those persons residing in a country as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). Each country's refugee entry includes only countries of origin that are the source of refugee populations of 5,000 or more. The definition of a refugee according to a United Nations Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution." The UN established the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 to handle refugee matters worldwide. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has a different operational definition for a Palestinian refugee: "a person whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." However, UNHCR also assists some 400,000 Palestinian refugees not covered under the UNRWA definition. The term "internally displaced person" is not specifically covered in the UN Convention; it is used to describe people who have fled their homes for reasons similar to refugees, but who remain within their own national territory and are subject to the laws of that state.
    Additional details:
    • Algeria: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2012)
    • Bangladesh: undetermined (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2012)
    • Burma: more than 454,200 (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand) (2012)
    • Guatemala: undetermined (the UN does not estimate there are any IDPs, although some NGOs estimate over 200,000 IDPs as a result of over three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996) (2007)
    • Guatemala: undetermined (more than three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996 displaced mainly the indigenous Maya population and rural peasants; ongoing drug cartel and gang violence) (2011)
    • India: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007)
    • India: at least 540,000 (about 250,000 are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2012)
    • Kenya: at least 300,000 (2007-08 post-election ...
      Full definition. Figures expressed per thousand people for the same year.
  • Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Current situation: This entry is derived from Government > Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons, which trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the law's key components is the creation of the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response (i.e., the current situation) in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation.Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. The countries identified in this entry are those listed in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report as Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3 based on the following tier rating definitions:
    Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria:
    1. they display high or significantly increasing number of victims,
    2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or,
    3. they have committed to take action over the next year.

    Tier 3 countries neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.
  • UN membership date: Date of United Nations Membership
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Administrative divisions 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab, Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus 2013
Basis of executive legitimacy Presidency independent of legislature; ministry subject to parliamentary confidence 2014
Capital > Geographic coordinates 33 30 N, 36 18 E 2013
Capital > Name Damascus 2013
Capital > Time difference UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) 2013
Capital city Damascus 2008
Capital city > Geographic coordinates 33 30 N, 36 18 E 2008
Capital city > Name Damascus 2011
Civil law system Based on Islamic law and French civil law system 2014
Constitution several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum 26 February 2012 2013
Constitutional form Republic 2014
Country name > Conventional long form Syrian Arab Republic 2013
Country name > Conventional short form Syria 2013
Country name > Local long form Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah 2013
Country name > Local short form Suriyah 2013
Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006 3.63 2006 99th out of 118
Democracy > Civil and political liberties 0.0 2001 137th out of 140
Democracy > Democratic institutions rating -9 1999 138th out of 140
Democracy > First female parliamentarian 1973 (elected) 2001
Democracy > Gender Parity Index in primary level enrolment 0.954 2005 100th out of 149
Democracy and rights > Freedom of the press 89 2012 9th out of 194
Democracy and rights > Press freedom index 78.53 2013 4th out of 175
Democracy and rights > Year women first voted at national level 1949 2014
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Robert S. FORD 2013
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus 2013
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address P. O. Box 29, Damascus 2013
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone [963] (11) 3391-4444 2013
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 2013 89th out of 174
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI 2013
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers appointed by the president 2013
Executive branch > Chief of state President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 21 February 2006); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) 2013
Executive branch > Election results Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%, other 2.4% 2013
Executive branch > Elections president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers 2013
Executive branch > Head of government Prime Minister Wael al-HALQI (since 9 August 2012); Deputy Prime Ministers Fahd Jasim al-FURAYJ, Lt. Gen., Walid al-MUALEM 2013
Executive branch > Note Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June; he was approved by a popular referendum on 10 July 2006
FAX 963 2011
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); identical to the former flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961) where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; the current design dates to 1980 2013
Foreign relations > Date of recognition of Israel None 2014
General government final > Consumption expenditure > Current US$ 3.54 billion$ 2005 63th out of 141
General government final > Consumption expenditure > Current US$ > Per capita 185.92$ per capita 2005 84th out of 141
Government type republic under an authoritarian regime 2013
Independence 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) 2013
International law organization participation has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt 2013
International organization participation ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) 2013
Judicial branch Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the president); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the president); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce) 2012
Judicial branch > Judge selection and term of office Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC, a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms 2013
Judicial branch > Subordinate courts courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court 2013
Leaders > President Bashar al-Assad 2013
Legal origin French 2005
Legal system mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts) 2013
Legislative branch unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab 2011
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA 2013
Legislative branch > Elections last held on 7 May 2012 (next to be held in 2016) 2013
National anthem name: "Humat ad-Diyar" (Guardians of the Homeland)
lyrics/music: Khalil Mardam BEY/Mohammad Salim FLAYFEL and Ahmad Salim FLAYFEL
2013
National holiday Independence Day, 17 April 2011
National symbol(s) hawk 2013
Parliament > Seats held by men 220 2013 46th out of 187
Parliament > Seats held by women 30 2013 77th out of 187
Parliament > Seats held by women > Percentage 12% 2013 132nd out of 187
Political parties and leaders legal parties:
National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]
Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN]
Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI]
Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]
Syrian Social Nationalist Party [As'ad HARDAN]
Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL])
Kurdish parties (considered illegal):
Kurdish Azadi Party
Kurdish Democratic Accord Party (al Wifaq)
Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Ibrahim wing)
Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Mustafa wing)
Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria or KDP-S
Kurdish Democratic Patriotic/National Party
Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Darwish
Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Muhammad
Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Salih Muslim MOHAMMAD]
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party
Kurdish Democratic Yekiti Party
Kurdish Future Party or KFP
Kurdish Future Party [Rezan HASSAN]
Kurdish Left Party
Kurdish Yekiti (Union) Party
Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party

other parties: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]
2013
Political pressure groups and leaders Free Syrian Army
National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Oppositon Forces or Syrian Oppositon Coalition [Mu'aaz al-KHATIB] (operates in exile in Cairo)
Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Muhammad Riyad al-SHAQFAH] (operates in exile in London)
2013
Politics Political power, long held by a small mainly Alawite elite, is being hotly contested in a civil war initially inspired by the Arab Spring 2013
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 12% 2006 100th out of 169
Red tape > Burden of customs procedure, WEF > 1=extremely inefficient to 7=extremely efficient 2.9 2011 133th out of 142
Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number 23 2012 19th out of 185
Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number 7 2013 88th out of 188
Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million 0.313 2012 132nd out of 188
Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days 71 2013 114th out of 188
Red tape > Time required to register property > Days 19 2013 135th out of 184
Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days 13 2013 110th out of 188
Red tape > Time to resolve insolvency > Years 4.1 2013 22nd out of 170
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 2013
Time required to start a business > Days 43 days 2006 66th out of 170
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan 2013
Transnational Issues > Illicit drugs a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering 2013
Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons > IDPs 6.5 million 2013 1st out of 9
Transnational Issues > Refugees and internally displaced persons > IDPs per thousand people 289.44 2013 1st out of 9
Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Current situation due to Syria's political uprising and violent unrest, hundreds of thousands of Syrians, foreign migrant workers, and refugees have fled the country and are vulnerable to human trafficking; the lack of security and inaccessibility of the majority of the country makes it impossible to conduct a thorough analysis of the ongoing conflict and the scope and magnitude of Syria's human trafficking situation; prior to the uprising, Syria was principally a destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor or sex trafficking; thousands of women - the majority from Indonesia, the Philippines, Somalia, and Ethiopia - were recruited to work as domestic servants but were subsequently subjected to forced labor; Filipina domestic workers continue to be sent to Syria and are vulnerable to forced labor; the Syrian armed forces and opposition forces are using Syrian children in combat and support roles and as human shields; Iraqi women and girls continue to be sexually exploited, and Syrian children still face conditions of forced labor 2013
UN membership date 24 Oct. 1945 1945

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; Wikipedia: List of countries by system of government (Alphabetical list of countries); CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; Wikipedia: List of national legal systems (Civil law); Bertelsmann Transformation Index online, 2006; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2000-2001, New York: Freedom House, 2001; Polity IV Project, University of Maryland, at Polity IV Project; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995: A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva.; Source: Millennium Development Goals Database | United Nations Statistics Division; "2012 Freedom of the Press Data" , Freedom House, 1 May 2012; Wikipedia: Censorship by country (Censorship by country) ("Press Freedom Index 2013" , Reporters Without Borders, 30 January 2013); Wikipedia: Women's suffrage (Summary); Wikipedia: International recognition of Israel (UN member states); World Development Indicators database; British Broadcasting Corporation 2014; CIA World Factbook, 28 July 2005; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division; World Economic Forum, Global Competiveness Report and data files.; World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/).; World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/). Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook

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