ational, and broadcast services; 5,890,000
telephones; extensive cable and microwave networks; broadcast stations - 7
AM, 265 FM, 18 (1,322 repeaters) TV; communications satellite earth station
operating in the INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) system

:Switzerland Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,798,632; 1,544,191 fit for military service; 43,952 reach
military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $4.6 billion, about 2% of GDP (1990)

:Syria Geography

Total area:
185,180 km2
Land area:
184,050 km2 (including 1,295 km2 of Israeli-occupied territory)
Comparative area:
slightly larger than North Dakota
Land boundaries:
2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km,
Turkey 822 km
Coastline:
193 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
6 nm beyond territorial sea limit
Territorial sea:
35 nm
Disputes:
separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Golan Heights is Israeli
occupied; Hatay question with Turkey; periodic disputes with Iraq over
Euphrates water rights; ongoing dispute over water development plans by
Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Climate:
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy
winters (December to February) along coast
Terrain:
primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in
west
Natural resources:
crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock
salt, marble, gypsum
Land use:
arable land 28%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 46%; forest and
woodland 3%; other 20%; includes irrigated 3%
Environment:
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note:
there are 38 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

:Syria People

Population:
13,730,436 (July 1992), growth rate 3.8% (1992); in addition, there are at
least 14,500 Druze and 14,000 Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights (1992 est.)
Birth rate:
44 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
45 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
65 years male, 67 years fe