Syria Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. Factors including the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably drove real annual GDP growth levels back below 1% in 2003 following growth of 3.5% in 2001 and 4.5% in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $58.01 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.9% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 25.9%
industry: 27%
services: 47.1% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
20% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
5.2 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture, industry, services NA

Unemployment rate:
20% (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.3 billion
expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2004 est.)

Industries:
petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
23.26 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 57.6%
hydro: 42.4%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
21.63 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
522,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
265,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
2.4 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
5.84 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
5.84 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
240.7 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk

Exports:
$5.143 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat

Exports - partners:
Germany 17.5%, Italy 15.9%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.8%, UAE 6.6%, Lebanon 4.8% (2002)

Imports:
$4.845 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper

Imports - partners:
Italy 8.1%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.6%, South Korea 4.6%, France 4.4%, US 4.3%, Turkey 4% (2002)

Debt - external:
$21.5 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$199 million (1997 est.)

Currency:
Syrian pound (SYP)

Currency code:
SYP

Exchange rates:
Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2003), 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999)