Syria

After World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost control of the Golan Heights region to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional, albeit unsuccessful, peace talks over its return. In 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the socialist Ba'ath Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. Following the death of al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in 2000. Syrian troops that were stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role were withdrawn in 2005. During the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In 2007, Bashar al-ASAD's second term as president was again approved in a referendum.
In the wake of major uprisings elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Dar'a in 2011. Protesters called for the legalization of political parties, the removal of corrupt local officials, and the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge. Demonstrations and violent unrest spread across Syria, and the government responded with concessions, but also with military force and detentions that led to extended clashes and eventually civil war. International pressure on the Syrian Government intensified after 2011, as the Arab League, the EU, Turkey, and the US expanded economic sanctions against the ASAD regime and those entities that supported it. In 2012, more than 130 countries recognized the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. In 2015, Russia launched a military intervention on behalf of the ASAD regime, and domestic and foreign-government-aligned forces recaptured swaths of territory from opposition forces. With foreign support, the regime continued to periodically regain opposition-held territory until 2020, when Turkish firepower halted a regime advance and forced a stalemate between regime and opposition forces. The government lacks territorial control over much of the northeastern part of the country, which the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) hold, and a smaller area dominated by Turkey.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted three large-scale military operations to capture territory along Syria's northern border. Some opposition forces organized under the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and Turkish forces have maintained control of northwestern Syria along the Turkish border with the Afrin area of Aleppo Province since 2018. The violent extremist organization Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Nusrah Front) emerged in 2017 as the predominant opposition force in Idlib Province, and still dominates an area also hosting Turkish forces. Negotiations have failed to produce a resolution to the conflict, and the UN estimated in 2022 that at least 306,000 people have died during the civil war. Approximately 6.7 million Syrians were internally displaced as of 2022, and 14.6 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance across the country. An additional 5.6 million Syrians were registered refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and North Africa. The conflict in Syria remains one of the two largest displacement crises worldwide (the other is the full-scale invasion of Ukraine).
On 8 December 2024, Syrian Islamist rebels captured the capital city of Damascus and overthrew President Bashar al-ASAD. The former president and his family fled to Moscow, where they were granted political asylum. The al-ASAD regime had ruled Syria for over 50 years.

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: note: the recent civil war has altered the population distribution

the capital of Damascus is located at an oasis fed by the Barada River and is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are Israeli settlements and civilian land-use sites in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights (2017)

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: note: the recent civil war has altered the population distribution

history: Syria's 2012 constitution was rescinded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led government in January 2025; in March 2025, interim authorities announced a transitional constitution to remain in effect for up to five years

chief of state: vacant; former President Bashar al-ASAD was overthrown by Islamist rebels on 8 December 2024; ASAD and his family flew to Moscow where they were granted political asylum
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad al-BASHIR (since 8 December 2024)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); the president appoints the vice president and prime minister
most recent election date: 26 May 2021
election results: 2021: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 95.2%, Mahmoud Ahmad MAREI (Democratic Arab Socialist Union) 3.3%, other 1.5%
2014: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%
expected date of next election: 2028

legislature name: People's Assembly (Majlis Al-Chaab)
legislative structure: unicameral
number of seats: 210 (140 indirectly elected; 70 appointed)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 4 years
most recent election date: 10/5/2025
percentage of women in chamber: 9.6%
expected date of next election: March 2030

highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)
judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members, including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges serve 4-year renewable terms
subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court

legal parties/alliances:
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Arab Socialist (Ba'ath) Party – Syrian Regional
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syrian Regional Branch, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party
Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU
Democratic Arab Socialist Union
National Progressive Front or NPF
Socialist Unionist Democratic Party
Socialist Unionist Party
Syrian Communist Party (two branches)
Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP
Unionist Socialist Party
major political organizations:
Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD
Kurdish National Council or KNC
Syriac Union Party
Syrian Democratic Council or SDC
Syrian Democratic Party
Syrian Opposition Coalition
de facto governance entities:
Democratic Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria or DAANES
Syrian Interim Government or SIG
Syrian Salvation Government or SSG

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black; three five-pointed red stars in a horizontal line, centered on the white band
meaning: the design is the same as a previous Syrian national flag (in use 1932-58 and 1961-63), but it is still unclear if the elements will retain the same meanings; the bands formerly represented Syria’s past rulers: white (Umayyad Caliphate), black (Abbasid Caliphate), and green (Rashidun Caliphate); the first star represented Damascus, Aleppo, and Deir ez-Zor, the three administrative subdivisions in Syria in the 1930s; the second star stood for Jabal Druze (the Mountain of the Druze), and the third star for the Alawite Mountains
history: in 2011, opponents to the Asad regime adopted the flag; in 2025, it became the new national flag, replacing the two-star design

low-income Middle Eastern economy; prior infrastructure and economy devastated by 11-year civil war; ongoing US sanctions; sporadic trans-migration during conflict; currently being supported by World Bank trust fund; ongoing hyperinflation

highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members)
judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members, including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges serve 4-year renewable terms
subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court

prior to the fall of the ASAD regime in December 2024, the SAF was inventory was comprised mostly of Russian and Soviet-era weapons and equipment (2024)

prior to the fall of the ASAD regime in December 2024, men 18-42 were obligated to perform military service; compulsory service obligation was up to 30 months; women were not conscripted but could volunteer to serve, including in combat arms (2024)

as of September 2025, the government did not exercise control over all of Syria; areas of the northeast were under the control of ethnic Kurdish-led forces and areas south of the capital Damascus were controlled by members of the Druze religious minority; Turkish forces remained in parts of the north, while Israeli forces had moved into formerly demilitarized areas between Syria and Israel and into some Syrian territory near the frontier
the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; UNDOF has about 1,300 personnel (2025)

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

refugees: 16,402 (2024 est.)
IDPs: 7,408,809 (2024 est.)
stateless persons: 160,000 (2024 est.)

Abdallah Azzam Brigades; Ansar al-Islam; Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq; Hizballah; Hurras al-Din; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa'ida; Palestine Liberation Front (PLF); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command (PLFP-GC)
note: note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; depletion of water resources; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water

state-run TV has 2 networks and 5 satellite channels; roughly two-thirds of homes have a satellite dish with access to foreign TV; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station launched in 2005; private radio broadcasters prohibited from transmitting news or political content (2018)