People

Election rally in Maalula

Jacqueline Boucher

Population: 16 673 282 (July 1998 est.)

note: in addition there are 35 150 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights—18 150 Arabs (16 500 Druze and 1 650 Alawites) and 17 000 Israeli settlers (August 1997 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 46% (male 3 937 575; female 3 748 881)

15-64 years: 51% (male 4 342 022; female 4 157 268)

65 years and over: 3% (male 240 603; female 246 933) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.23% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 37.83 births/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 37.6 deaths/1 000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 67.76 years

male: 66.48 years

female: 69.11 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.55 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Syrian(s)

adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3% Kurds Armenians and other 9.7%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 74% Alawite Druze and other Muslim sects 16% Christian (various sects) 10% Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus Al Qamishli and Aleppo)

Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish Armenian Aramaic Circassian widely understood; French English somewhat understood

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 70.8%

male: 85.7%

female: 55.8% (1997 est.)