Population 16,673,282 (July 1998 est.)
note: in addition, there are 35,150 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,150 Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,650 Alawites) and 17,000 Israeli settlers (August 1997 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 46% (male 3,937,575; female 3,748,881)
15-64 years: 51% (male 4,342,022; female 4,157,268)
65 years and over: 3% (male 240,603; female 246,933) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 3.23% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 37.83 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 37.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.76 years
male: 66.48 years
female: 69.11 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 5.55 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%

Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

Languages Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8%
male: 85.7%
female: 55.8% (1997 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Syria on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Syria People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Syria People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.