Any look at its internal living conditions shows Syria to be a brutish impoverished country, often near the bottom of the Third World. . The proportion of babies who are born in any sort of health facility is only 37 percent, one of the lowest rates in the world outside sub-Saharan Africa. Only 33 percent of mothers have any medical care during pregnancy, and only 61 percent have care during delivery. The proportion of infants receiving health care is only 13 percent, again one of the lowest outside Africa. The number of physicians is one per 1,221 Syrians, comparable to the lower ranges of the Third World.
Syrian infrastructure is undeveloped and primitive.
Much of the water is unsafe, many Syrians have no sewers, electricity supply is primitive and unreliable. Rates of ownership for cars and major appliances are at levels similar to the bottom of the Third World, as are rates for newspaper and magazine distribution. Only 866 kilometers are expressways. Rail passenger service in Syria has all but collapsed, dropping by 62 percent between 1991 and 1995. The civil aviation sector in Syria as measured by passenger miles is just slightly larger than in Namibia or Zimbabwe.