Syria People 2024, CIA World Factbook
Population
22,933,531 (2023 est.)
note: approximately 22,900 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2018)
Nationality
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian
Ethnic groups
Arab ~50%, Alawite ~15%, Kurd ~10%, Levantine ~10%, other ~15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrian, Turkoman, Armenian)
Languages
Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English
major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
ڕاستییەکانی جیهان، باشترین سەرچاوەیە بۆ زانیارییە بنەڕەتییەکان (Kurdish)
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Arabic audio sample:
Kurdish audio sample:
Religions
Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%
note: the Christian population may be considerably smaller as a result of Christians fleeing the country during the ongoing civil war
Age structure
0-14 years: 33.27% (male 3,914,737/female 3,716,362)
15-64 years: 62.58% (male 7,141,423/female 7,209,386)
65 years and over: 4.15% (2023 est.) (male 445,288/female 506,335)
2023 population pyramid: 
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 55.4
youth dependency ratio: 53
elderly dependency ratio: 7.4
potential support ratio: 13.5 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 23.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 23.3 years
female: 24.5 years
Population growth rate
6.39% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
22.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
45.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.) NA
Population distribution
significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus, Aleppo (the country's largest city), and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain, the province of Halab, and the Euphrates River valley
note: the ongoing civil war has altered the population distribution
Urbanization
urban population: 57.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 5.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
2.585 million DAMASCUS (capital), 2.203 million Aleppo, 1.443 million Hims (Homs), 996,000 Hamah (2023)
Sex ratio
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.)
Maternal mortality ratio
30 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 15.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 17.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 74.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 73.1 years
female: 76.1 years
Total fertility rate
2.74 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.33 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
N/A
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 99.6% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 99.8% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population
rural: 0.7% of population
total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
N/A
Physicians density
1.29 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density
1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 99.5% of population
rural: 99.5% of population
total: 99.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.5% of population
rural: 0.5% of population
total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27.8% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 0.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
N/A
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
52.6% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
N/A
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 91.7%
female: 81% (2015)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 9 years
male: 9 years
female: 9 years (2013)
NOTE: The information regarding Syria on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Syria 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Syria 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.