Overview: Since independence, the state has sought to develop a national transportation system connecting major population and economic areas, and improvements to infrastructure have figured prominently in economic development plans. The telecommunications system has been characterized as reasonably good and undergoing major improvements, including digital upgrades and fiber-optic technology. The current regime has placed great emphasis on enhancing Iraq’s Internet access.

Roads: Syria has an extensive and reasonably well-maintained network of 23,400 kilometers of main roads and 18,400 kilometers of secondary roads connecting major cities and linking to neighboring countries. About 10,000 kilometers of roads were reported to be paved, including almost 900 kilometers of expressways, as of 1999. A Kuwaiti company has undertaken a major road improvement project of upgrading the roadway between Latakia and Aleppo. The number of vehicles also has grown steadily with the decline in import duties on cars. A portion of the rapid expansion stems from the increase in Japanese- and Korean-made minibuses, which serve as privately owned and operated transport systems. This expansion in road transport comes at the expense of the rail network, however.

Railroads: Syria’s 2,425-kilometer rail network (standard-gauge) is generally adequate for transport needs. A recently initiated project is designed to upgrade the overall rail system and to improve links with neighboring countries, but the effort has been hampered between Damascus and Amman, Jordan, because a portion of the track in that area is narrow gauge. There is inexpensive, regular, but infrequent passenger service from Syria to Jordan, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Because of an increase in the speed and cost effectiveness of road transport, the rail system has experienced a decline in passengers, although the decline has been partly offset by a steady increase in freight use, especially for bulk commodities such as petroleum products, phosphates, cereals, and cement. In 1998, the last year for which statistics are available, Syrian trains recorded 182 million passenger-kilometers and carried about 5 million tons of freight. Syrian Railways is currently negotiating the purchase of 41 new locomotives.

Ports: Syria’s main ports are located at Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, and Tartus. Tartus and Latakia each service approximately 2,800 vessels per year, with 1.5 million tons of goods loaded and 6.9 million tons of goods unloaded. Latakia handles primarily general cargo and Tartus, both general cargo and phosphates. Baniyas primarily serves the oil industry. Port facilities in both Tartus and Latakia need equipment upgrades. The European Investment Bank recently signed a loan agreement to finance the development and modernization of the Tartus port, and Russian and Greek companies are conducting a dredging project to enable larger ships to anchor at both ports. Ports are state-run and lack sufficient funding; inadequate facilities, slow turnaround, cumbersome customs processing and regulations, and abundant corruption hamper port operations. The Ministry of Transport has attempted to lower fees in order to make Syrian ports more competitive with neighboring country ports, but shippers reportedly still find them outdated and inefficient.

In 2003 Syria’s merchant marine totaled 122 ships: 12 bulk, 101 cargo, 2 container, 4 livestock carrier, 1 petroleum tanker, 1 refrigerated cargo, and l roll on/roll off. Fifteen vessels are foreign owned, and 83 are registered in other countries.

Inland Waterways: Approximately 900 kilometers of inland waterways in Syria are navigable, but this method of transport is not regarded as economically significant.

Civil Aviation and Airports: In 2003 Syria had a reported 93 airports, including 26 with paved runways and five with runways of more than 3,000 meters, as well as seven heliports. Syria’s three international airports, located at Damascus, Aleppo, and Latakia, carry an average of 2.5 million passengers on 13,000 flights each year. Syria also moved 33,000 tons of freight by air in 2001. The government-owned national carrier, Syrian Arab Airlines (SyrAir) offers scheduled services to destinations throughout the Middle and Far East, Europe, and North Africa. SyrAir completed a major upgrade of its fleet in early 2000 when it received the last of the six A-320 Airbus aircraft it had purchased. SyrAir also released tenders to overhaul its aging Boeing aircraft. The remainder of the fleet is mostly Soviet-era aircraft used for domestic travel.

Pipelines: Syria had 2,300 kilometers of gas pipelines and 2,183 kilometers of oil pipelines in 2004. Syria lost a major source of revenue in March 2003 when the war in Iraq shut down a pipeline carrying crude oil into Syria.

Telecommunications: Telecommunications, which are controlled by the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment and regulated by the Ministry of Communications, are developing steadily despite limited resources. The government has given priority to the improvement of telecommunications and has used development funds from Gulf states to install modern digital systems throughout the country. Telephone lines increased from 500,000 in 1991 to about 2 million in 2002, but fell well short of the government’s goal of 3.4 million lines by 2002 and 4 million by 2004. The waiting list for main lines is reported to exceed 2 million lines. Teledensity was only 14.7 per 100 in 2002, ranking Syria fifth lowest in the Middle East region; the government was aiming for a teledensity of 10 per 100 by 2004. Syria has not kept pace with the rest of the region in developing its mobile telecommunications network. In early 2001, the government issued two build-operator-transfer (BOT) telephone licenses for the installation of a mobile communications network involving 850,000 lines. The two companies involved had previously created limited pilot service in Damascus and Aleppo beginning in early 2000. The mobile network had reached a capacity of 60,000 by mid-2001 and was being expanded, reaching about 400,000 cell phones by 2002.

Syria is reported to have 44 TV stations and 14 AM and 2 FM radio broadcast stations. Since establishing a government Internet service provider (ISP) in 1997 (the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment), Syria has been opening to the Internet, and Internet and e-mail access, although still limited, are growing. Two state-owned ISPs now exist, but subscriptions are restricted to state institutions, public-sector companies, and the offices of selected professionals (such as doctors, lawyers, and journalists). With high installation, subscription, and hourly access fees, the costs are prohibitive. Syria has one of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the region, with only 250,000 subscribers in the early 2000s. However, the number of users may be much higher than the number of subscribers, given the recent proliferation of Internet cafés in the main cities and the fact that some Syrians are connected to the Internet via ISPs in neighboring countries. With the eventual advent of privately owned ISPs, Internet access rates should increase, thus meeting one of the goals of President Assad’s modernization campaign. Additionally, he would like to raise the number of personal computers in the country, currently estimated to number only one computer per 56 people.

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

PM Olmert: I don't intend to talk to Syria  -  24 Oct 2006
Jerusalem Post,By SHARON WROBEL AND JPOST.COM STAFF. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reaffirmed on Monday that he has no intention of talking peace with Syria in the near future. ...

New Archaeological Find Links Syria And Egypt  -  24 Oct 2006
All Headline NewsDamascus, Syria (AHN) - An important archaeological dig in southern Syria found evidence of extensive trade between ancient Egypt and Syria during the middle ...

Nasrallah fires roaring business in Damascus  -  24 Oct 2006
Middle East Times,DAMASCUS -- When searching for signs of the latest trends in the Levant region look no further than Syria's capital city. In the ...

Hosted by Broward Anti-War Coalition  -  24 Oct 2006
Party for Socialism and LiberationIn December 2005, Becker traveled to Damascus, Syria to participate in a conference on Palestinian Refugees and the Right of Return. ...

UN to Finalize Hariri International Tribunal Monday  -  24 Oct 2006
Naharnet,The Syrian state newspaper Tishrin has accused the United States, France and Lebanon of conspiring to frame Syria in Hariri's assassination, indicating ...

Peace with Syria should be explored: Israeli DM  -  Oct 22, 2006
æ–°å?Žç½‘,22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Sunday that Israel should explore the possibility of achieving peace deal with Syria. ...

Speaking with the enemy  -  Oct 23, 2006
Asia Times Online,...repute, the administration has sat in the corner holding its breath, hoping that those who oppose its stated goals - foreign monsters such as Syria, Iran and ...

Surprised again?  -  Oct 22, 2006
Ha'aretz,While it is true that Ehud Barak, and even Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to further peace with Syria, Hafez Assad, the xenophobe, got cold feet as the talks moved ...

Syrian judge has filed new charges against prominent dissident ...  -  Oct 23, 2006
International Herald Tribune,AP. DAMASCUS, Syria A judge has filed new charges against the detained Syrian writer and political activist, Michel Kilo, his wife and a human rights group said ...

Syria's Sunni leader supports Mecca call for peace in Iraq  -  Oct 21, 2006
Monsters and Critics.com,Damascus - Syria's Sunni leader Sheik Salah El-Deen Kiftaroof on Saturday said he 'strongly' supported an agreement between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite religious ...

Britain call for talks with Iran and Syria on Iraq  -  Oct 21, 2006
Tehran Times,Among the changes the ISG is expected to recommend is the opening of talks on Iraq's future with Syria and Iran, countries the White House has sought to isolate ...

Iraq: Two Flavours of Defeat  -  Oct 22, 2006
PEJ News,2. Iraqâ€™s neighbours -- Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Kuwait, as well as Turkey and Iran -- must all be involved in the search for an Iraqi settlement. ...

The Christians of Syria: Syria's Future is in Their Hands  -  Oct 20, 2006
AINA,Washington -- In assessing Syria's future and the importance that the minorities play in defining not only Syria's vision but the means by which we can achieve ...

UK Foreign Office backs opening talks with Iran, Syria on Iraq  -  Oct 21, 2006
IRNA,The British Foreign Office was reported Saturday to be supporting calls in the US to open talks with Iran and Syria in order to seek an exit strategy from its ...

Obama Not Ready for Prime Time: Iran, Syria Should 'Take Ownership ...  -  Oct 21, 2006
NewsBusters..."send a message to the Iraqis as well as to the regional powers including Iran and Syria that they have to take some ownership for creating some stability there ...

This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.