Syria

Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea and shares a maritime border with Cyprus, while its eastern and northern parts are mountainous. Syria's national capital is Damascus. 

The biggest city is Aleppo. It has been embroiled in civil war since March 2011. The religious makeup of Syria is 74% Sunni, 11% Alawite, 10% Christian, 3% Druze, 1% Ismaili Shia 0.4% Twelver Shia and 0.1% Yazidi.

History

Before 20th century
Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians, which then became part of the Achaemenid Empire, Roman Empire, and then the Eastern Roman Empire. In those days people in Syria spoke the Syriac language and used the Syriac alphabet, while the Syrian city Antioch was one of the important cities in Christendom. 
Islamization
The Rashidun Caliphate took over Syria from the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th century. Most of the indigenous population converted to Islam and adopted the Arabic language. The region then became an important province of the subsequent Muslim empires under the name of Bilād ash-Shām. 





20th century
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. 
Cold War



Meanwhile, the Ba'athist party seized power with a coup in 1963 to establish a junta. 







  In 1970, Hafiz al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad, took over with another coup and turned the Ba'athist Syrian state into a dynastic totalitarian state, featured by systematic oppression and widespread human rights abuses, which was passed on to Bashar when Hafiz passed away in 2000.

21st century
Most Syrians believe in Islam, while an ethnoreligious Christian minority, called the Syriac Christians, exists. 




2010s
In 2011, anti-regime protests were brutally suppressed by President Bashar al-Assad, sparking off a civil war against Assad. Assad went on to commit countless atrocities against Syrians, including massacres, starving sieges 



  and chemical attacks, 



 * 



  which killed over 400,000 Syrians. Amid the war, the Kurds took over a sizeable part of northern Syria, namely the Rojava. 



  In 2016, Assad regained most of Syria with help from military forces from Russia and Iran.* 





2020s
A myriad of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic* 

  and pro-Russian Western leftist opposition to NATO intervention, 







  had made the civil war a frozen conflict for several years until December 2024. 





In December 2024, regrouped rebel forces launched large-scale multi-pronged offensives amid weakened local Russian and Iranian military presence, 



  reportedly due to the countries' respective involvement in the invasion of Ukraine and conflict with Israel. Aleppo, Homs and Daraa, 



  three of the largest Syrian cities, fell to the rebels within a week, who also encircled Syria's capital Damascus. 





Fall of Ba'athist rule
On December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad fled the capital as the rebels stormed in. 



  Assad's protecting power Russia claimed that Assad had left Syria 



  for Moscow. 



  Rebels inside the capital announced the end of the six-decade Ba'athist rule in Syria. 





Geography
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.

Politics and government
The Syrian transitional government has been in control, since March 2025. 





In March 2025, the 2012 constitution was set aside, and a new interim constitution came in its place.

Syria is a republic. A Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971, making Syria a de jure secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution came into place in 2012.
Branches of government
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.  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.
State control
Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.
Human rights
Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.  The authorities kidnap democracy and human rights activists, censor websites and impose travel bans on their targets.
Military

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces. The armed forces stood down with the fall of the Ba'athist rule on December 8, 2024.

There are about 400,000 troops. Ethnic Kurds have their own army called YPG. [Before the fall of the previous government], men [had to] go in the military when they [were] age 18.Syria – Overview. Retrieved 2010-02-01.

Governorates
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

Economy
Syria is a middle-income country. The economy is based on agriculture, oil, industry and tourism.
Transport
Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia).  They are hubs for Syrian Air. Foreign airlines also fly to them. Most Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens, the Syrian railway company.
Demographics
 Population in SyriaCO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion  Population 1971–2008 IEA pdf  pages 83–85 Year  Million 1971  6.6 1990  12.7 2009  21.9 Source: OECD/World Bank/UNO 

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.
 Foreign relations 

Syria has diplomatic relations with Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, and Sudan.

US-Syria foreign relations; The presidents of the two countries had a meeting (2025); Twenty-five years earlier, there was a meeting at that level.https://www.nrk.no/norge/lekkasjer-kaster-lys-over-jihadist-fortiden-til-syrias-nye-leder-1.17412644. Retrieved 2025-05-16 In 2025, the U.S. started (taking away or) lifting sanctions against Syria.https://www.nbcnews.com/world/syria/syria-sanctions-trump-administration-lifting-begin-rcna208875. Retrieved 2025-05-24https://www.nettavisen.no/nyheter/usa-opphever-sanksjoner-mot-syria/s/5-95-2449660. Retrieved 2025-05-24 U.S. soldiers have been patroling with Syrian forces (in Syria), as late as 2025's fourth quarter.https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3156294/us-troops-in-syria-killed-in-is-ambush-attack?tbref=hp%27. Retrieved 2025-12-14. "... a joint US–Syrian government patrol."

Sports
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.

Other information
The parliament of Syria has 210 members; Seven of those are women (October 6, 2025).https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/04/middleeast/syria-elections-first-post-assad-intl-hnk. Retrieved 2025-12-11

Related pages
Asia
Druze
Yazidi
Assyria
Kurdistan
Near East
Iranic peoples
History of Asia
Kurdish people
Assyrian people
List of rivers of Syria
Indo-Iranian peoples
Syria at the Olympics
Syria national football team

References

Category:Syria
Category:Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation