Syria is a unitary republic located in the Middle East. The constitution establishes Syria as an Arab, democratic, and republican state. It divides power between the president, who is head of state, and the prime minister, who is head of government. The country has experienced a civil war since 2011 that has impacted its economy and society. Syria has a population of over 17 million people composed of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic groups. The culture is influenced by its Arabic and Islamic heritage.

1. SYRIA
By : Bagus Edi Prayogo
Syria
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah
Damascus
33°30′N 36°18′E

2. ABOUT THE LAW
The Constitution of Syria, which was revised in 2012,
determines the country’s character to be Arab, democratic,
and republican. It is divided in four chapters: Basic
State, Judicial Authority, and General and Transitory Provision.
Constitution stipulates that Islamic jurisprudence is a main
source of the legislation, but not the main source. The
president is the head of the holder of all the powers,
head of the executive branch, and appoints the
government. The Constitution gives Syrians the freedom of
expression, assembly, and religion for all religion. Stating
the state shall be the guarantor and protector of personal
freedom and dignity. Before the law, citizens are all equal
in their rights and duties.
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

3. ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
Syria is formally a unitary republic. The constitution adopted
in 2012 effectively transformed Syria into a semi-
presidential republic due to the constitutional right for the
individuals who do not form part of the National
Progressive Front. The President is Head of State and the
Prime Minister is Head of Government. The executive branch
president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the
Council of Ministers (cabinet). The constitution requires the
president to be a Muslim but does not make Islam the
state religion.
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

4. ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE
The People's Council (Majlis al-Sha'ab) has 250 members elected for a four-year
term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. According to the previous Syrian constitution
of 1973 Syria was a one-party state and only one political party, the Arab Socialist
party, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was legally allowed to hold effective power.
effective power. Of the 250 seats in the council, 167 were guaranteed for the
guaranteed for the National Progressive Front (founded in 1972) and 134 of these
and 134 of these (as of 2007) were members of the Ba'ath Party. The minor parties
Party. The minor parties in the Progressive Front, were legally required to accept
required to accept the leadership of the Ba'ath Party. The other parties in the
parties in the Progressive Front, for example, are not allowed to canvass for
canvass for supporters in the army or the student body which are "reserved
are "reserved exclusively for the Ba'ath." The new Syrian constitution of 2012
constitution of 2012 introduced multi-party system without guaranteed leadership
of any political party.
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

5. ABOUT THE CURRENCY
Name: Syrian Pound
Symbol: £
Coins Freq Used: £1, £2, £5, £10, £25
Banknotes Freq Used: £5, £10, £25, £50, £100, £200,
£500, £1000
Central Bank: Central Bank of Syria
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

6. ABOUT THE
ADMINISTRATION DIVISION
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah NO Governorate Capital
1 Latakia Latakia
2 Idlib Idlib
3 Aleppo Aleppo
4 Al-Raqqah Al-Raqqah
5 Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah
6 Tartus Tartus
7 Hama Hama
8 Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor
9 Homs Homs
10 Damascus -
11 Rif Dimashq -
12 Quneitra Quneitra
13 Daraa Daraa
14 Al-Suwayda Al-Suwayda
Syria is divided into 14 governorates, which are sub-divided into 61
districts, which are further divided into sub-districts.

7. ABOUT THE
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
the country produced heavy-grade oil from fields located in
the northeast since the late 1960s. In the early 1980s,
light-grade, low-sulphur oil was discovered near Deir ez-Zor
in eastern Syria. Syria's rate of oil production has
decreased dramatically from a peak close to 600,000
barrels per day (95,000 m3/d) (bpd) in 1995 down to less
than 182,500 bbl/d (29,020 m3/d) in 2012. Since 2012 the
production has decreased even more, reaching in 2014
32,000 barrels per day (5,100 m3/d) (bpd). Official figures
quantity the production in 2015 at 27,000 barrels per day
(4,300 m3/d), but those figures have to be taken with
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

8. ABOUT THE ETHNICS
Syrians are an overall indigenous Levantine people, closely related to their
immediate neighbours, like Lebanese people, Palestinians, Iraqis, Maltese and
Jordanians. Syria has a population of approximately 17,065,000 (2014 est.)
Many (particularly the Assyrian group) still retain several Neo-Aramaic
dialects as spoken and written languages, while villagers of Ma'loula,
Jubb'adin and Bakh'a still retain Western Aramaic. The second largest ethnic
group in Syria are the Kurds. They constitute about 9% to 10% of the
population, or approximately 1.6 million people (including 40,000 Yazidi).
Most Kurds reside in the northeastern corner of Syria and most speak the
Kurmanji variant of the Kurdish language. The third largest ethnic group are
the Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen, with estimates suggesting they
constitute approximately 4-5% of the population of Syria. The fourth largest
ethnic group are the Assyrians (3-4%), followed by the Circassians (1.5%)
and the Armenians (1%).
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

9. ABOUT THE CULTURE
The literature of Syria has contributed to Arabic literature and has a proud
tradition of oral and written poetry. Syrian writers, many of whom migrated
whom migrated to Egypt, played a crucial role in the nahda or Arab literary
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah

10. ABOUT THE CULINARY
Syria is formally a unitary republic. The constitution adopted
in 2012 effectively transformed Syria into a semi-
presidential republic due to the constitutional right for the
individuals who do not form part of the National
Progressive Front. The President is Head of State and the
Prime Minister is Head of Government. The executive branch
president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the
Council of Ministers (cabinet). The constitution requires the
president to be a Muslim but does not make Islam the
state religion.
‫السورية‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الجمهورية‬
al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah