Demographics of Syria

Demographics of Syria

Population density, 1993
Nationality
Nationality noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian
Language
Official Arabic

In 2011, the Syrian population was estimated at roughly 23 million permanent inhabitants, including people with refugee status from Palestine and Iraq and are an overall indigenous Levantine people. While most modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history, they are, in fact, largely a blend of the various Semitic-speaking groups indigenous to the region.[1][2][3][4]

Population

Religion

There has been no Syrian census including a question about religion since 1960, these are thus the last official statistics available:[5] 92.1% Muslims (4,053,349) including 75% Sunnis, 11% Alawis, 3% Druzes; 7.8% Christians (344,621) and 0.1% Jews (4,860). In the next census of 1970, the religion statistics were no longer mentioned.

Languages

Arabic is the official, and most widely spoken, language. Arabic speakers make up 85% of the population (this includes some 500,000 Palestinians). Many educated Syrians also speak English and French.[6] The Kurds, a majority of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, as well in pockets all along the northern borders of Syria with Turkey, and demographically dominate the district of Afrin, west of Aleppo, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well.[7] Armenian and Turkmen are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkmen populations respectively. Aramaic is still spoken in two forms, the Syriac used by Assyrians and Western Neo-Aramaic used by a few inhabitants in the villages of Bakh'a, Jubb'adin and Ma'loula. 1,500 people of Greek descent lived in Syria. The majority of them were Syrian citizens.[8]

Disposition

60% of the population live 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). 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.[9]

Since 1960, censuses have been conducted in 1960, 1970, 1981, 1994 and 2004.[10]

Civil war's effect on population

More than four million refugees have left the country during the course of the civil war. Most of them fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey,[11][12] Lebanon, Jordan,[13] and Iraq,[14] as well as European nations like Germany.

The war also affected the birth rate. The annual birth rate in Syria has fallen by more than half since the country plunged into turmoil in March 2011, from about 500,000 births per year before 2011, to about 200,000.[15]

Life expectancy

Prior to the civil war, the life span in Syria was 75.9 years, but that number has since fallen to an estimated 55.7 years.[16]

Vital statistics

UN estimates[17]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR1 CDR1 NC1 TFR1 IMR1
1950–1955 187 000 75 000 112 000 51.2 20.5 30.6 7.23 180.1
1955–1960 212 000 77 000 136 000 50.1 18.1 32.0 7.38 150.5
1960–1965 241 000 76 000 165 000 48.5 15.3 33.3 7.54 121.8
1965–1970 275 000 74 000 201 000 46.8 12.5 34.2 7.56 98.8
1970–1975 322 000 70 000 252 000 46.3 10.1 36.2 7.54 77.3
1975–1980 373 000 69 000 304 000 45.4 8.3 37.0 7.32 63.1
1980–1985 417 000 66 000 351 000 42.8 6.7 36.1 6.77 49.9
1985–1990 440 000 61 000 379 000 38.4 5.3 33.1 5.87 36.2
1990–1995 441 000 58 000 383 000 33.3 4.3 28.9 4.80 26.1
1995–2000 447 000 58 000 389 000 29.7 3.8 25.8 3.96 20.8
2000–2005 451 000 62 000 389 000 26.2 3.6 22.6 3.39 17.4
2005–2010 465 000 69 000 396 000 23.9 3.5 20.4 3.10 15.0
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Structure of the population [18]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Demographics of Syria, Data of FAO, year 2007 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[19]

Population

17,951,639 in 2014, 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.[20]

Age structure

0–14 years: 35.2% (male 4,066,109/female 3,865,817)
15–64 years: 61% (male 6,985,067/female 6,753,619)
65 years and older: 3.8% (male 390,802/female 456,336) (2011 est.)

Median age

total
21 years male
21.7 years female
22.1 years (2011 est.)

Population decline rate

0.797% (2012 est.)

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19372,368,000—    
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%
Source:[21]

Birth rate

2.35 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death rate

3.67 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

Net migration rate

-27.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and older: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total years: 71.19 years
male: 69.8 years
female: 72.68 years (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups[22]

A map of religious and ethnic communities of Syria and Lebanon (1935)

Religions[22][23]

Languages[22][24]

Literacy

definition: age 15 and older can read and write

Urbanization

Major urban areas - population

As of 2011:

References

  1. ↑ Michael Haag. The Templars: The History and the Myth - From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons. p. 65.
  2. ↑ "PLOS ONE". plosone.org. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Geographical Structure of the Y-chromosomal Genetic Landscape of the Levant: A coastal-inland contrast". Annals of Human Genetics. 73: 568–581. PMC 3312577 Freely accessible. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1809.2009.00538.x. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ↑ John Joseph. The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East. p. 30.
  5. ↑ (in French) Mouna Liliane Samman, La population de la Syrie: étude géo-démographique, IRD Editions, Paris, 1978, ISBN 9782709905008 table p.9
  6. ↑ "Syrian refugees and the need for English language training". www.blogs.jbs.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Syria". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  9. ↑ Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "World Microdata Inventory". IPUMS-International. University of Minnesota. 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Syrian Refugees May Be Wearing Out Turks' Welcome". NPR. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Syria crisis: Turkey refugee surge amid escalation fear". BBC News. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Syria: Refugees brace for more bloodshed". News24. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "30 Syrian soldiers flees to Iraq's Kurdish region: official". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  15. ↑ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/11/17/438068/Syria-birth-rate-Watan-MSF
  16. ↑ http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/shocking-numbers-that-sum-up-syrian-civil-war/news-story/0361e487c319253b7703d7cc881cb2c8
  17. ↑ "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". un.org. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  18. ↑ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  19. ↑ "The World Factbook". cia.gov. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Syria Demographics Profile 2014". indexmundi.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Demographic Developments and Population Policies in Baʻthist Syria, Onn. Winkler, page 184, 1998
  22. 1 2 3 "Middle East :: SYRIA". CIA The World Factbook.
  23. ↑ Izady, M., Ethnic omposition of Syria, 1997-2016.
  24. ↑ Izady, M., Linguistic omposition of Syria, 1997-2016.
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