| Area Total | 187,437 sq km |
| Climate | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Imports | Russia 32.4%, Turkey 16.7%, China 9.5% (2017) – machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Capital | Damascus |
| Population | 19,454,263 (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | Arab ~50%, Alawite ~15%, Kurd ~10%, Levantine ~10%, other ~15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrian, Turkoman, Armenian) |
| Language | Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English |
| Exports | Lebanon 31.5%, Iraq 10.3%, Jordan 8.8%, China 7.8%, Turkey 7.5%, Spain 7.3% (2017) – crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat |
News about Syria
- Major blow for ISIS brides hoping to return to Australia as war breaks out in the Middle East
on March 3, 2026The ISIS brides hoping to return to Australia have been dealt with a major blow.
- As ISIS brides beg to return home to Australia, Barnaby Joyce makes a controversial point their sympathisers can't ignore
on February 27, 2026Barnaby Joyce has made cutting comments about the 11 women hoping to return home after fleeing Australia to join ISIS in Syria
- Two ISIS brides declared 'extremists' as Syrian camp chief speaks out
on February 26, 2026Al Roj camp director Hakamia Ibrahim said the two women could pose a potential security risk.
- Two ISIS brides declared 'extremists' as Syrian camp chief speaks outon February 26, 2026
Al Roj camp director Hakamia Ibrahim said the two women could pose a potential security risk.
- ISIS bride Kirsty Rosse-Emile dripped with entitlement as she demanded Australia rescue her from Syrian hellhole. Now, the first sign emerges she WILL be held responsible for her actions
on February 25, 2026Kirsty Rosse-Emile is one of 11 Australian women pleading with the Albanese government to help them return home from Syrian refugee camps with their collective 23 children. She is now being investigated.
- ISIS bride Shamima Begum 'could be free from Syrian detention camp in DAYS' as Kurdish-led fighters holding her and thousands of terrorists lose ground to government forces
on February 24, 2026Ms Begum, 26, who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the terror group, is currently held at al-Roj - a filthy, violent camp in north-east Syria.
- Shamima Begum 'plots return to Britain using people smugglers': Texts from ISIS bride's 'fixer' 'beg for cash so she can flee Syria and force deportation to UK'
on February 24, 2026Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the terror group in 2015, is currently held at al-Roj - a filthy, violent camp in north-east Syria .
- I translate Albo's comments about ISIS brides into what he REALLY means... And it's pathetic, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN
on February 24, 2026Anthony Albanese has tried to draw a line under the ISIS brides debate in a way that will satisfy almost nobody.
- Why the Albanese government is powerless to stop 'ISIS brides' returning to Australia - as Opposition calls for passport law change
on February 22, 2026The Opposition has lashed out at laws allowing former ISIS brides and their children access to Australian passports.
- ISIS brides DO have Australian passports: Tony Burke makes bombshell admission as details emerge about Labor 'delegate' helping in Syria
on February 21, 2026Tony Burke was forced to make the admission on Wednesday night.
- PETER VAN ONSELEN: ISIS brides CHOSE to leave a safe, wealthy and free nation for a hellscape of slavery, beheadings and rape. Albo, don't let Australia sleepwalk into a nightmare
on February 21, 2026The how-to policy guide Albo is drawing on, simply saying 'we won't help', isn't quite the same as promising 'they won't come'.
- What one of Australia's most Muslim suburbs - which Pauline Hanson says people 'can't go to' - thinks of ISIS brides' imminent return: Daily Mail hits the streets
on February 20, 2026Residents in Sydney's west have been left divided over whether the families should be allowed to return home, as one bride is banned over security risks.
- Australian ISIS brides are NAMED after their bid to fly back from Syria was stopped at the last moment
on February 20, 2026The group of 34 Australian women, known as ISIS brides, were unsuccessful in their attempt to flee Syria on Monday. Now, they've been identified.
- Passport twist in ISIS brides saga as they prepare to return home to Australia within days
on February 19, 2026A convoy of so-called 'ISIS brides' are set to fly home to Australia within days after Syrian authorities received 'valid documents and passports'.
- Fiery moment Liberal senator Michaelia Cash calls 'bulls***' on Anthony Albanese after the Prime Minister insisted his government would not help repatriate ISIS brides and their children
on February 19, 2026Albanese and a number of his frontbench said they oppose the return of the group.
- Brazen T-shirt PROVES Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke have ties to the Aussie doctor Jamal Rifi who is helping the ISIS brides come home from Syria
on February 18, 2026A friend of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is believed to be coordinating the repatriation of 11 families from Syria.
- ISIS bride is BANNED from returning to Australia: Albanese government blocks attempt to return from Syria
on February 18, 2026Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed on Wednesday a 'temporary exclusion order' had been enforced.
- Group of more than two dozen ISIS brides and their families turned around after leaving Syria with Aussie passports
on February 16, 2026A group of Australian women and children with links to ISIS have been barred from returning home and sent back a Syrian refugee camp by local authorities.
- ISIS brides apply for Australian passports in desperate bid to leave Syrian camps and return home
on February 15, 2026At least ten women and children held in Syrian camps have lodged passport applications with Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- President Assad was 'obsessed with sex and had a lover who also procured wives of high-ranking officials for him to sleep with before he ordered her assassination'
on February 9, 2026According to one former Hezbollah operative, Assad would spend hours glued to his phone, retreating into games rather than confronting spiralling military and political crises.
