d
occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of
President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as
president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops -
stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role -
were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict
between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on
alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah.
Geography Syria
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and
Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
35 00 N, 38 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km
water: 1,130 sq km
note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than North Dakota
Land boundaries:
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon
375 km, Turkey 822 km
Coastline:
193 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
Climate:
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild,
rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with
snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Terrain:
primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain;
mountains in west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron
ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 24.8%
permanent crops: 4.47%
other: 70.73% (2005)
Irrigated land:
13,330 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water
pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate
potable water
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)
People Syria
Population:
18,881,361
note: in addition, about 40,000 people
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