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Demographics of Syria

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Demographics of Syria
Population pyramid of Syria in 2020
Population25,000,128 (2024 est.)
Growth rate4.57% (2024 est.)
Birth rate21.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Life expectancy74.8 years (2024 est.)
 • male73.4 years
 • female76.4 years
Fertility rate2.69 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Net migration rate-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years33% (male 4,037,493/female 3,828,777)
15–64 years62.8% (male 7,475,355/female 7,522,797)
65 and over4.2% (2024 est.) (male 468,730/female 532,271)
Sex ratio
Total1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
At birth1.06 male(s)/female
Under 151.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years0.99 male(s)/female
65 and over0.88 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationalitynoun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Major ethnic
Minor ethnic
Language
OfficialArabic
SpokenKurdish, Turkish, Neo-Aramaic (Turoyo, Western Neo-Aramaic, Suret (Assyrian and Chaldean)
Source: The World Factbook[1]

Syria's estimated pre–Syrian Civil War 2011 population was 22 ±.5[2] million permanent inhabitants, which included 21,124,000 Syrians,[3] as well as 1.3 million Iraqi refugees[4] and over 500,000 Palestinian refugees.[4] The war makes an accurate count of the Syrian population difficult, as the numbers of Syrian refugees,[5] internally displaced Syrians and casualty numbers are in flux. The CIA World Factbook showed an estimated 20.4m people as of July 2021.[6] Of the pre-war population, six million are refugees outside the country, seven million are internally displaced, three million live in rebel-held territory, and two million live in the Kurdish-ruled Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Most modern-day Syrians are described as Levantine Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history. Genetically, Syrian Arabs are a variety of diverse Semitic-speaking groups indigenous to the region.[7][8][9][10] With around 10% of the population, Kurds are the second biggest ethnic group in Syria, followed by Turkmen.

Human toll of Syrian Civil War

[edit]
Human toll of the Syrian civil war
Pre-war population 22 ±.5; Internally displaced 6 ±.5, Refugees 5.5 ±.5, Fatalities 0.5 ±.1 (millions)[citation needed]
Syrian refugees
By countryTurkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan
SettlementsCamps: Jordan
Internally displaced Syrians
Casualties of the war
CrimesWar crimes, massacres, rape
Return of refugees, Refugees as weapons, Prosecution of war criminals

Forced displacement

[edit]
See also: Refugees of the Syrian Civil War and Internally displaced persons in Syria

More than six million refugees left the country during the civil war,[11] of whom over five million are registered as refugees by the UNHCR as of mid-2019.[12] Most of them fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey,[13][14] Lebanon, Jordan,[15] and Iraq,[16] as well as European nations like Greece, Germany and Sweden. Since 2017, tens of thousands have returned.[17]

The war resulted in large-scale displacement in the country. The UNHCR estimates internally displaced people (IDPs) at seven million. A further 70,000 people were trapped on the border with Jordan at Rukban in 2016–18,[18][19] with up to 40,000 still there in 2019.[20]

A significant part of the population lives in territory outside government sovereignty. At its peak in 2015, ISIL ruled over ten million people across Syria and Iraq.[21] The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), commonly referred to as Rojava, has a population of around two million.[22] Areas controlled by the opposition have had a population in the millions. In mid-2017, UN OCHA estimated that around 540,000 persons were trapped in besieged areas as of June 2017, the majority besieged by government forces in Eastern Ghouta.[23] By the time the government retook Ghouta in April 2018, some 140,000 individuals had fled their homes and up to 50,000 were evacuated to Idlib and Aleppo governorates.[24] The latter rebel areas had an estimated population of 3 million (40% of them displaced from defeated rebel areas).[25][26] Fighting in Idlib has led to further displacements, of up to 250,000 people, and generating new refugee outflows to neighbouring Turkey.[27]

Displacement has led to demographic shifts. One example is the area in the North under control by Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Many human rights groups, including Amnesty International[28] and international organizations[29][30] have accused SDF forces of committing ethnic cleansing in Arab areas they were capturing from other war factions.[31] The accusation was repeated on 8 May 2019 by Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.[32] NGOs and the opposition have also accused the government of using the conflict to affect demographic restructuring.[33][34][35][36]

Birth-death rate

[edit]
See also: Casualties of the Syrian Civil War

In April 2016, the UN estimated that 400,000 people had died in the war,[37] and casualties have continued since, with estimates for the total dead by mid-2019 of up to 220,000 civilians, 175,000 government combatants, and 174,000 anti-government combatants (see Casualties of the Syrian Civil War).

Population

[edit]

Historical population

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1 BC2,110,000—    
2002,860,000+35.5%
5002,430,000−15.0%
9002,200,000−9.5%
12002,700,000+22.7%
15001,070,000−60.4%
17001,250,000+16.8%
18501,480,000+18.4%
19001,720,000+16.2%
19372,368,000+37.7%
19503,252,000+37.3%
19604,565,000+40.4%
19706,305,000+38.1%
19808,704,000+38.0%
199012,116,000+39.2%
199514,186,000+17.1%
200417,921,000+26.3%
201121,124,000+17.9%
201617,185,000−18.6%
201718,029,549+4.9%
202323,022,427+27.7%
Source:[38][39][40] 2016 estimate[41] 2023 estimate[42]
Population history of Syria

In 1200, the territories of modern-day Syria had an estimated population of 2.7 million.[38] This number sharply decreased due to the Plague epidemic in 1348–1353, which killed off an estimated third of the Levant's population. By 1937, the population reached an estimated 2,368,000, still considerably lower than 1200's estimated population.

Modern population

[edit]

Since 1960, censuses have been conducted in 1960, 1970, 1981, 1994 and 2004.[43] In 2014, 17,951,639, a massive decline due to nearly 4 million Syrian refugees leaving the country because of the Syrian Civil War and furthermore because of the death in the war. This is a drop of 9.7% from the previous year.[44]

In 2017, the head of the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs, Mohammad Akram al-Qash, said that the Syrian population was 28 million, of which, 21 million were living in Syria and that 7 million were refugees.[45] In 2018, the population was estimated to be 19,454,263 people.[46] Ever since the Syrian Civil War, the population has been steadily declining, however rebounded in 2023, with an estimated population of 23,022,427 people.

Age structure

[edit]
CIA World Factbook (2018 est.)[46]
Population pyramid Male Female
0–14
3,132,619
2,974,394
15–24
1,933,185
1,863,991
25–54
3,807,664
3,829,150
55–64
531,455
542,738
65+
379,360
379,360
UN inc Palestinian refugees 2011-07-01 est.[47]
Population pyramid Male Female
0–14
4,044,000
6,281,000
15–64
6,281,000
6,126,000
65+
469,000
389,000
(2011-07-01) (Estimates, including Palestinian refugees)[47]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 10 794 000 10 330 000 21 124 000 100
0-4 1 428 000 1 347 000 2 775 000 13.14
5-9 1 384 000 1 270 000 2 654 000 12.56
10-14 1 232 000 1 198 000 2 430 000 11.50
15-19 1 191 000 1 088 000 2 279 000 10.79
20-24 1 035 000 944 000 1 979 000 9.37
25-29 864 000 873 000 1 737 000 8.22
30-34 674 000 697 000 1 371 000 6.49
35-39 601 000 628 000 1 229 000 5.82
40-44 545 000 551 000 1 096 000 5.19
45-49 437 000 433 000 870 000 4.12
50-54 387 000 405 000 792 000 3.75
55-59 293 000 280 000 573 000 2.71
60-64 254 000 227 000 481 000 2.28
65+ 469 000 389 000 858 000 4.06
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 4 044 000 3 815 000 7 859 000 37.20
15–64 6 281 000 6 126 000 12 407 000 58.73
65+ 469 000 389 000 858 000 4.06

Population

[edit]

This data is from CIA World Factbook:[46] In 2023, the Syrian population increased by 6.39%. This made Syria the country with the highest population growth. The birth rate was estimated at 22.19 births per 1000 people. The death rate is 4.07 deaths for 1000 people. The median age (estimated in 2020) for males is 23 years old, while for females it is 24 years old. Overall, the Syrian median age is 23.5 years old. The migration rate is 45.78 migrants for 1,000 people. The gender ratio is as follows:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Demographic statistics

[edit]

UN estimates:[48]

Period Population Live births Deaths Natural change Birth rate
(per 1000) 		Death rate
(per 1000) 		Natural change
(per 1000) 		Crude migration rate
(per 1000) 		Total Fertility rate Infant mortality (1000 births) Life expectancy (years)
1950 3 544 000 167 000 92 000 75 000 47.0 25.9 21.1 7.60 179.6 44.14
1951 3 621 000 171 000 92 000 80 000 47.3 25.4 22.0 -0.7 7.60 177.5 44.45
1952 3 703 000 176 000 91 000 85 000 47.6 24.7 23.0 -0.9 7.61 173.3 44.99
1953 3 791 000 182 000 90 000 91 000 47.9 23.9 24.0 -0.8 7.61 169.1 45.70
1954 3 886 000 187 000 88 000 99 000 48.0 22.6 25.5 -1.1 7.62 160.2 46.97
1955 3 989 000 192 000 85 000 107 000 48.2 21.3 26.8 -1.0 7.62 151.7 48.31
1956 4 099 000 197 000 83 000 114 000 48.0 20.3 27.7 -0.9 7.59 143.9 49.39
1957 4 217 000 202 000 81 000 121 000 47.8 19.1 28.7 -0,7 7.57 136.6 50.58
1958 4 341 000 207 000 79 000 128 000 47.6 18.2 29.4 -0.8 7.54 129.9 51.57
1959 4 473 000 212 000 77 000 135 000 47.3 17.2 30.1 -0.6 7.51 123.7 52.61
1960 4 611 000 217 000 75 000 142 000 47.0 16.3 30.7 -0.8 7.49 118.0 53.55
1961 4 752 000 221 000 74 000 147 000 46.5 15.5 31.0 -1.3 7.43 113.0 54.44
1962 4 895 000 227 000 73 000 154 000 46.4 14.8 31.5 -2.3 7.44 108.4 55.09
1963 5 045 000 233 000 72 000 162 000 46.2 14.2 32.0 -2.3 7.44 104.2 55.78
1964 5 203 000 241 000 71 000 170 000 46.2 13.6 32.6 -2.2 7.47 100.3 56.50
1965 5 368 000 249 000 70 000 179 000 46.3 13.1 33.3 -2.6 7.51 96.5 57.11
1966 5 542 000 258 000 70 000 188 000 46.5 12.6 33.8 -2.4 7.55 92.7 57.60
1967 5 723 000 267 000 70 000 197 000 46.6 12.2 34.4 -2.8 7.58 88.9 58.10
1968 5 913 000 276 000 68 000 208 000 46.6 11.5 35.1 -3.0 7.60 85.0 59.07
1969 6 111 000 288 000 67 000 220 000 47.0 11.0 36.0 -3.6 7.67 81.1 59.88
1970 6 319 000 298 000 67 000 231 000 47.1 10.5 36.5 -3.6 7.69 77.2 60.53
1971 6 539 000 305 000 65 000 240 000 46.7 10.0 36.7 -3.1 7.65 73.5 61.37
1972 6 769 000 314 000 65 000 249 000 46.3 9.6 36.7 -2.7 7.61 70.1 61.90
1973 7 003 000 322 000 69 000 253 000 45.9 9.8 36.1 -2.7 7.56 66.9 60.69
1974 7 245 000 331 000 63 000 267 000 45.6 8.7 36.9 -3.5 7.51 63.8 63.12
1975 7 497 000 341 000 63 000 278 000 45.4 8.4 37.0 -3.4 7.47 60.9 63.54
1976 7 759 000 352 000 63 000 289 000 45.3 8.1 37.2 -3.4 7.44 58.0 63.92
1977 8 029 000 364 000 65 000 299 000 45.2 8.1 37.2 -3.6 7.41 55.2 63.76
1978 8 310 000 373 000 60 000 314 000 44.8 7.2 37.7 -3.9 7.35 52.4 65.81
1979 8 601 000 382 000 60 000 322 000 44.3 6.9 37.4 -3.6 7.27 49.7 66.14
1980 8 899 000 390 000 60 000 330 000 43.8 6.7 37.1 -3.6 7.16 47.2 66.35
1981 9 204 000 396 000 68 000 328 000 43.0 7.4 35.6 -2.5 7.01 47.0 64.37
1982 9 511 000 404 000 83 000 321 000 42.4 8.7 33.7 -1.4 6.88 48.6 61.12
1983 9 835 000 413 000 58 000 355 000 41.9 5.9 36.0 -3.1 6.74 40.3 67.83
1984 10 183 000 422 000 55 000 366 000 41.4 5.4 35.9 -1.7 6.61 38.3 68.92
1985 10 541 000 432 000 57 000 375 000 41.0 5.4 35.5 -1.5 6.48 36.6 68.76
1986 10 908 000 441 000 57 000 384 000 40.4 5.2 35.2 -1.6 6.33 35.0 69.21
1987 11 281 000 447 000 58 000 389 000 39.6 5.1 34.5 -1.4 6.13 33.5 69.30
1988 11 658 000 448 000 58 000 390 000 38.4 4.9 33.4 -1.1 5.89 32.3 69.67
1989 12 034 000 446 000 58 000 388 000 37.1 4.9 32.2 -1.0 5.63 31.1 69.76
1990 12 409 000 446 000 59 000 387 000 35.9 4.8 31.1 -0.9 5.38 29.9 69.82
1991 12 782 000 444 000 60 000 384 000 34.7 4.7 30.0 -0.8 5.12 28.8 70.04
1992 13 156 000 448 000 60 000 387 000 34.0 4.6 29.4 -1.0 4.95 27.7 70.26
1993 13 537 000 459 000 62 000 397 000 33.9 4.6 29.3 -1.2 4.83 26.5 70.19
1994 13 923 000 468 000 64 000 404 000 33.6 4.6 29.0 -1.3 4.72 25.4 70.14
1995 14 313 000 474 000 64 000 409 000 33.1 4.5 28.6 -1.4 4.57 24.2 70.42
1996 14 709 000 478 000 67 000 411 000 32.5 4.5 28.0 -1.1 4.43 23.1 70.35
1997 15 104 000 481 000 69 000 412 000 31.8 4.5 27.3 -1.1 4.28 22.0 70.28
1998 15 501 000 487 000 71 000 416 000 31.4 4.6 26.8 -1.2 4.18 21.0 70.20
1999 15 901 000 493 000 72 000 421 000 31.0 4.5 26.5 -1.3 4.08 20.1 70.43
2000 16 308 000 500 000 72 000 428 000 30.6 4.4 26.2 -1.2 4.00 19.3 70.76
2001 16 728 000 519 000 70 000 449 000 31.0 4.2 26.8 -1.7 4.01 18.6 71.64
2002 17 164 000 529 000 70 000 459 000 30.8 4.1 26.7 -1.3 3.95 18.0 71.94
2003 17 611 000 541 000 70 000 471 000 30.7 4.0 26.7 -1.3 3.90 17.4 72.41
2004 18 084 000 553 000 72 000 481 000 30.6 4.0 26.6 -0.4 3.86 17.0 72.48
2005 18 584 000 567 000 73 000 494 000 30.5 3.9 26.6 0.3 3.81 16.6 72.77
2006 19 432 000 579 000 72 000 507 000 30.3 3.8 26.5 17.1 3.76 16.3 73.35
2007 20 703 000 625 000 75 000 551 000 30.8 3.7 27.1 34.3 3.70 16.1 73.71
2008 21 474 000 673 000 81 000 592 000 31.0 3.7 27.3 8.6 3.61 16.0 73.55
2009 21 827 000 650 000 80 000 569 000 29.7 3.7 26.1 -9.9 3.51 15.9 73.85
2010 22 338 000 641 000 83 000 558 000 28.7 3.7 25.0 -2.1 3.40 15.9 73.88
2011 22 731 000 629 000 90 000 539 000 27.5 3.9 23.6 -2.1 3.28 16.4 73.31
2012 22 606 000 615 000 148 000 467 000 26.6 6.4 20.2 -6.3 3.22 23.0 66.77
2013 21 496 000 568 000 173 000 394 000 25.2 7.7 17.5 -25.7 3.17 26.3 63.83
2014 20 072 000 465 000 168 000 297 000 22.4 8.1 14.3 -69.1 3.10 27.1 63.15
2015 19 205 000 397 000 143 000 254 000 20.2 7.3 12.9 -85.2 3.05 25.1 65.12
2016 18 964 000 359 000 133 000 226 000 18.9 7.0 11.9 -24.6 2.99 24.5 65.99
2017 18 983 000 355 000 115 000 240 000 18.6 6.0 12.5 -11.5 2.94 18.5 68.48
2018 19 333 000 346 000 106 000 240 000 18.2 5.6 12.6 5.5 2.89 18.6 70.15
2019 20 098 000 375 000 100 000 275 000 18.9 5.0 13.9 24.2 2.84 18.1 71.82
2020 20 773 000 406 000 103 000 303 000 19.7 5.0 14.7 17.8 2.80 18.1 72.14
2021 21 324 000 427 000 109 000 318 000 20.1 5.1 15.0 10.8 2.75 17.8 72.06
Fertility[49]
Name TFR (2009)
Aleppo 3.2
Damascus 2.6
Daraa 5.2
Deir ez-Zor 6.9
Hama 3.3
Al-Hasakah 3.5
Homs 3.1
Idlib 4.8
Latakia 2.2
Quneitra 3.8
Raqqa 5
Rif Dimashq 3.3
Al-Suwayda 2.1
Tartus 2.3
Syria 3.5
Life expectancy in Syria since 1950
Life expectancy in Syria since 1960 by gender
Marital fertility rate[49]
Name MFR (2009)
Aleppo 5.4
Damascus 4.7
Daraa 7.3
Deir ez-Zor 10.2
Hama 6.6
Al-Hasakah 6.8
Homs 5.9
Idlib 7.7
Latakia 4.5
Quneitra 6.5
Raqqa 7.9
Rif Dimashq 5.4
Al-Suwayda 4
Tartus 4.8
Syria 6

Life expectancy at birth

This data is from CIA World Factbook:[46]

total: 75.2 years
male: 72.8 years
female: 77.8 years (2018 est.)

Population centers

[edit]
Main articles: List of cities in Syria and Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War
Demographics of Syria is located in Syria
Aleppo 2,132,100
Aleppo 2,132,100
Damascus 1,711,000
Damascus 1,711,000
Homs 652,609
Homs 652,609
Latakia 383,786
Latakia 383,786
Hama 312,994
Hama 312,994
Raqqa 220,488
Raqqa 220,488
Deir ez-Zor 211,857
Deir ez-Zor 211,857
Al-Hasakah 188,160
Al-Hasakah 188,160
Qamishli 184,231
Qamishli 184,231
Sayyidah Zaynab 136,427
class=notpageimage|
Population centers as of 2004[50] 6,133,652 Syrians among 17,921,000 total population live in the first 10: (1) Aleppo 2,132,100 (2) Damascus 1,711,000 (3) Homs 652,609 (4) Latakia 383,786 (5) Hama 312,994 (6) Raqqa 220,488 (7) Deir ez-Zor 211,857 (8) Al-Hasakah 188,160 (9) Qamishli 184,231 (10) Sayyidah Zaynab 136,427

60% of the population lives in the Aleppo Governorate, the Euphrates valley or along the coastal plain; a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert. Overall population density is about 118.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (306/sq mi).

Urbanization

[edit]

This data is from CIA World Factbook:[46]

Urban population: 54.2% of total population (2018)

Rate of urbanization: 1.43% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Major urban areas

[edit]
Population density, 1993

As of 2018; this data is from CIA World Factbook:[46]

Damascus (capital): 2.32 million

Aleppo: 1.754 million

Homs: 1.295 million

Hama: 894,000

Ethnicity and religion

[edit]
See also: Nawar people and Religion in Syria

On 1 January 2011, Syria was estimated to have a population of 24 million people, distributed over its 14 governorates.[51] Arabs represent 80-85% of the population, with the rest being a mixture of many ethnic and religious sects, as shown in the table below:

Ethnic and religious groups % of Syrian population[51] Notes[51]
Syrian Arabs 80–85% The Arabs form the majority in all districts except for the Al-Hasakah Governorate.
Kurds 10% The majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, with a Yazidi minority; concentrated in Syrian Kurdistan region and major urban centres outside that region.
Turkmen/Turkoman 4–5% Descendants of ethnic Turks, rather than Turkmens. These figures exclude the Arabic-speaking Turks. Only approximately 30% of Turkmen speak a Turkic language. The majority are Sunni Muslims.
Assyrians and Arameans 3–4% Most Assyrians are Christians. Arameans of Maalula are overwhelmingly Christian, while those of Jubb'adin and Al-Sarkha (Bakhah) are almost entirely Muslim.
Circassians 1.5% The majority of Circassians are Sunni Muslims.
Armenians 1% The majority of Armenians are Christians.
Smaller groups of Albanians, Greeks and Chechens, among others <0.9% (combined) A significant number of these ethnic groups are Arabized, particularly those that adhere to Islam.

The CIA World Factbook cites the following figures for ethnic groups as in July 2018: approximately Arab 50%, Alawite 15%, Kurd 10%, Levantine 10%, other 15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrians, Turkmen, Armenian and Chechens).[6] Professor John A. Shoup stated in 2018 that Kurds made 9% of the population, followed by Turkish-speaking Turkmen comprising 4-5%, Assyrians 4%, Armenians 2%, and Circassians about 1% of the total population.[52]

Religion in Syria (est. 2021)[53]

  Sunni Islam (74%)
  Shia (Alawites, Ismailis, Twelvers) (13%)
  Christianity (10%)
  Druze (3%)

There has been no Syrian census including a question about religion since 1960, these are thus the last official statistics available:[54]

In 1991 Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that some 85% of Syrians were Muslims and that the remainder were almost all Christians, however, both religious groups were subdivided into many ethnic sects.[55] Among the former, approximately 75% of Syrians were Sunni Muslim, of whom, 60% were Arabic-speaking and the remainder of Sunnis included Kurds 8.5%, Turkmen/Turkoman 3%, and Circassians (less than 1%).[55] In addition, Alawis formed 5.5%, Druze 3% and Ismailis 1.5% of the population. In regards to the Christians, they were subdivided into the Greek Orthodox 4.7%, Armenians 4% and Assyrians 1%.[55]

According to Pierre Beckouche, before 2011, Sunni Muslims accounted for 78% of Syria's population, which included 500,000 Palestinian refugees and the non-Arab Sunni Muslims, namely the Kurds 9-10% and the Turkmen/Turkoman 4%.[56] Other Muslims included Shias and Alawites 11%-16%, whilst the Christians made up 6% of the population.[56] There were also a few Jewish communities in Aleppo and Damascus.[56]

The CIA World Factbook cites the following figures for religious groups: religions - Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (mainly of the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches[57] - may be smaller as a result of Christians fleeing the country), Druze 3%.[6]

The first census which focused on the sectarian distribution was carried out in 1932 under the French mandate, however, this census was only carried out in the lands under the short-lived Government of Latakia (the Alawite State established by the French) which covered only 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) out of modern Syria's total area of 185,000 km2 (71,000 sq mi).[58] A general census of Syria in 1943 gave details of religious groups of the population and the rate of growth of each and estimates of the population in 1953 from an unnamed source were as follows:

1943 census[58][59] 1953 census[58] Growth[58]
Sunnis 1,971,053 (68.91%) 2,578,810 (70.54%) 31%
Shi'ites 12,742 (0.45%) 14,887 (0.41%) 17%
Alawites 325,311 (11.37%) 398,445 (10.90%) 22%
Ismailis 28,527 (1.00%) 36,745 (1.01%) 29%
Druze 87,184 (3.05%) 113,318 (3.10%) 30%
Yezidi 2,788 (0.10%) 3,082 (0.08%) 11%
Total Muslims 2,427,605 (84.87%) 3,145,287 (86.03%) 30%
Jews 29,770 (1.04%) 31,647 (0.87%) 6%
Christians 403,036 (14.09%) 478,970 (13.10%) 19%

Literacy rate

[edit]

Education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 11. Schooling consists of 6 years of primary education followed by a 3-year general or vocational training period and a 3-year academic or vocational program. The second 3-year period of academic training is required for university admission. Total enrollment at post-secondary schools is over 150,000. The literacy rate of Syrians aged 15 and older is 86.0% for males and 73.6% for females.[60]

Languages

[edit]
Main article: Languages of Syria

Arabic is the official, and most widely spoken, language. Arabic speakers make up 85% of the population. Several modern Arabic dialects are used in everyday life, most notably Levantine in the west and Mesopotamian in the northeast. A report published by the UNHCR points out that "while the majority of Syrians are considered Arabs, this is a term based on spoken language (Arabic), not ethnicity."[61]

According to The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, in addition to Arabic, the following languages are spoken in the country, in order of the number of speakers: Kurdish,[62] Turkish,[62] Neo-Aramaic (four dialects),[62] Circassian,[62] Chechen,[62] Armenian,[62] and finally Greek.[62] None of these languages have official status.[62]

Many educated Syrians also speak English and French.[63][64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Syria", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2024-09-17, retrieved 2024-09-24
  2. ^ "Syria's drained population". The Economist. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Population Existed in Syria According To Censuses (1960, 1970, 1981, 1994, 2004) And Estimates of Their Number in Mid Years 2005–2011(000)". Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b "World Refugee Survey 2008". U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Syria Regional Refugee Response". UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
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    Kurds are the second largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 10% of the Syrian population and distributed among four regions...with a Yazidi minority that numbers around 40,000...
    Turkmen are the third largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 4–5% of the population. Some estimations indicate that they are the second biggest group, outnumbering Kurds, drawing on the fact that Turkmen are divided into two groups: the rural Turkmen who make up 30% of the Turkmen in Syria and who have kept their mother tongue, and the urban Turkmen who have become Arabized and no longer speak their mother language...
    Assyrians are the fourth largest ethnic group in Syria. They represent the original and oldest inhabitants of Syria, today making up around 3–4% of the Syrian population...
    Circassians are the fifth largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 1.5% of the population...
    Armenians are sixth largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 1% of the population...
    There are also a small number of other ethnic groups in Syria, including Greek, Albanian, Bosnian, Pashtun, Russian, and Azeri people...
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