levisions: 3.31 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ch

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 44 (Switzerland and
Liechtenstein) (2000)

Internet users: 2.4 million (2000)

Switzerland Transportation

Railways: total: 4,492 km (1,564 km double track)

standard gauge: 3,317 km 1.435-m gauge (3,288 km electrified)

narrow gauge: 1,165 km 1.000-m gauge (1,165 km electrified); 10 km
0.800-m gauge (1998)

Highways: total: 71,059 km (including 1,638 km of expressways)

paved: 71,059 km

unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Waterways: 65 km

note: The Rhine carries heavy traffic on the Basel-Rheinfelden and
Schaffhausen-Bodensee stretches; there are also 12 navigable lakes

Pipelines: crude oil 314 km; natural gas 1,506 km

Ports and harbors: Basel

Merchant marine: total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
435,966 GRT/780,458 DWT

ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 6, chemical tanker 5, petroleum
tanker 1

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag
of convenience: UK 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 67 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 42

over 3,047 m: 3

2,438 to 3,047 m: 4

1,524 to 2,437 m: 13

914 to 1,523 m: 7

under 914 m: 15 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 25

under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.)

Switzerland Military

Military branches: Army, Air Force, Frontier Guards, Fortification
Guards

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,849,034 (2001
est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49:
1,570,918 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 42,597
(2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $3.1 billion (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY98)

Switzerland Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: because of more stringent government regulations,
used significantly less as a money-laundering center; transit
country for and consumer of South American cocaine and Southwest
Asian heroin

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@Syria

Syria Introduction

Background: Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World
War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in
1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to
Israel. Since 1976, Syrian tro