,322 repeaters) TV; communications satellite earth station
operating in the INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) system

*Switzerland, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army (Air Force is part of the Army), Frontier Guards, Fortification Guards
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,852,213; fit for military service 1,590,308; reach
military age (20) annually 44,124 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion, 1.7% of GDP (1993 est.)

*Syria, Geography

Location:
Middle East, along the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Lebanon
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
185,180 km2
land area:
184,050 km2
comparative area:
slightly larger than North Dakota
note:
includes 1,295 km2 of Israeli-occupied territory
Land boundaries:
total 2,253 km, Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km,
Turkey 822 km
Coastline:
193 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
41 nm
territorial sea:
35 nm
International 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; Syrian troops in northern
Lebanon since October 1976
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:
petroleum, 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%
Irrigated land:
6,700 km2 (1989)
Environment:
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note:
there are 38 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

*Syria, People

Population:
14,338,527 (July 1993 est.)
note:
in addition, there are at least 14,500 Druze and 14,000 Jewish settlers in
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.76% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
44.08 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population