flag of Syria de facto national flag since December 2024. It is a horizontally striped green-white-black flag with three red stars on the white stripe. The flag’s width-to-length ratio is 2 to 3.
In 1917 Hussein ibn Ali, king of the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia), adopted the Arab Revolt Flag, intended to represent all Arab lands. It consisted of three horizontal stripes of black, green, and white with a red triangle at the hoist. The four colors recalled the major dynasties of Arab history—the Abbasids, Fatimids, Umayyads, and Hashemites. In March 1918 the Arab Revolt Flag was raised in Damascus as independence was proclaimed for “natural Syria” (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan). The single white star on the triangle marked it as the first independent Arab state after the Hejaz. Within four months, however, France had taken control of Syria, and the Arab Revolt Flag was subsequently used only in guerrilla warfare against French authorities.
Small Syrian states were established in the 1920s and ’30s by the French as part of a “divide and conquer” policy. Eventually a unified Syrian state was proclaimed under a flag of horizontal green-white-black stripes bearing three red stars in the center. Following complete independence in the 1940s, Syria continued to struggle for Arab unity, and in 1958 it joined Egypt in the United Arab Republic. Its flag, based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian 1952 revolution, had horizontal stripes of red-white-black with two green stars for the constituent states. In 1961 Syria broke from the union. In subsequent years it had two different flags expressing the political policies of the era. Finally, on March 29, 1980, Syria readopted the flag of the United Arab Republic as its own national banner.
In December 2024, after more than a decade of civil war, rebel forces seized parts of the country, including the capital, Damascus, and Pres. Bashar al-Assad fled the country. The flag used by the rebel forces, which was similar to the flag the country had begun using in the 1930s, could be seen flying in Syria and beyond as the country’s de facto national flag. It has horizontal stripes in green, white, and black, and three red stars in the center.
The capital of Syria is Damascus, located on the Barada River in an oasis at the foot of Mount Qasioun.
Who became president of Syria after Hafez al-Assad’s death?
After Hafez al-Assad’s death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad became president of Syria. Ahmed al-Sharaa became president in 2025 after Assad’s overthrow.
Which mountain range marks Syria’s border with Lebanon?
The Anti-Lebanon Mountains mark Syria’s border with Lebanon.
What is the most important water source in Syria?
The Euphrates River is the most important water source and the only navigable river in Syria.
What event led to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011?
Deeply rooted internal tensions led to protests, inspired by a broader Arab Spring uprising throughout the Middle East. The government’s attempts to suppress the protests escalated the uprising into a civil war, but ultimately did not prevent the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
Syria, country located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in southwestern Asia. Its area includes territory in the Golan Heights that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The present area does not coincide with ancient Syria, which was the strip of fertile land lying between the eastern Mediterranean coast and the desert of northern Arabia. The capital is Damascus (Dimashq), on the Barada River, situated in an oasis at the foot of Mount Qasioun (Qāsiyūn).
After Syria gained its independence in 1946, political life in the country was highly unstable, owing in large measure to intense friction between the country’s social, religious, and political groups. In 1970 Syria came under the authoritarian rule of Pres. Hafez al-Assad, whose foremost goals included achieving national security and domestic stability and recovering the Syrian territory lost to Israel in 1967. Assad committed his country to an enormous arms buildup, which put severe strains on the national budget, leaving little for development. After Assad’s death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad became president. Despite some early steps toward political reform, Bashar al-Assad ultimately continued his father’s authoritarian style of government, using Syria’s powerful military and security services to quash political dissent. Long-suppressed internal tensions led to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Assad’s brutal response to the civil war failed to keep him in power and, after a tremendous amount of death and destruction, he was finally deposed in December 2024.
Al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Sūriyyah (Syrian Arab Republic)
Total Area (Sq Km):
185,180
Total Area (Sq Mi):
71,480
Monetary Unit:
Syrian pound (S.P)
Population Rank:
(2025) 59
Population Projection 2030:
28,647,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
(2025) 330.3
Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
(2025) 127.5
Urban-Rural Population:
Urban: (2024) 58%
Rural: (2024) 42%
Life Expectancy At Birth:
Male: (2022) 72.8 years
Female: (2022) 75.8 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:
Male: (2021) 97%
Female: (2021) 92%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
(2022) 15,883
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
(2022) 710
On December 8, 2024, rebel forces led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (Ahmed al-Sharaa) toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad and appointed an interim government led by technocrats from the rebel-led Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) that since 2017 had been based in Idlib. Syria’s 2012 constitution was suspended on December 12 and Sharaa announced on December 29 that the process to draft a new constitution may take two or three years.
According to the 2012 constitution, Islam was required to be the religion of the head of state and was the basis of the legal system. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the predominant group running the interim government, also takes inspiration from Islamic jurisprudence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, by November 2017, more than 5.3 million Syrian refugees had left the country as a result of the Syrian Civil War.
Syria is bounded by Turkey to the north, by Iraq to the east and southeast, by Jordan to the south, and by Lebanon and Israel to the southwest.
Relief
Syria has a relatively short coastline, which stretches for about 110 miles (180 km) along the Mediterranean Sea between the countries of Turkey and Lebanon. Sandy bays dent the shore, alternating with rocky headlands and low cliffs. North of Tartus, the narrow coastal strip is interrupted by spurs of the northwestern Al-Anṣariyyah Mountains immediately to the east. It then widens into the Akkar Plain, which continues south across the Lebanon border.
The Al-Anṣariyyah mountain range borders the coastal plain and runs from north to south. The mountains have an average width of 20 miles (32 km), and their average height declines from 3,000 feet (900 meters) in the north to 2,000 feet in the south. Their highest point, at 5,125 feet (1,562 meters), occurs east of Latakia. Directly to the east of the mountains is the Ghāb Depression, a 40-mile (64-km) longitudinal trench that contains the valley of the Orontes River (Nahr Al-ʿĀṣī).
The Anti-Lebanon Mountains (Jabal Al-Sharqī) mark Syria’s border with Lebanon. The main ridge rises to a maximum height of 8,625 feet (2,629 meters) near Al-Nabk, while the mean height is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet (1,800 to 2,100 meters). Mount Hermon (Jabal Al-Shaykh), Syria’s highest point, rises to 9,232 feet (2,814 meters).
Smaller mountains are scattered about the country. Among these are Mount Al-Durūz, which rises to an elevation of some 5,900 feet (1,800 meters) in the extreme south, and the Abū Rujmayn and Bishrī Mountains, which stretch northeastward across the central part of the country.
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The undulating plains occupying the rest of the country are known as the Syrian Desert. In general their elevation lies between 980 and 1,640 feet (300 and 500 meters); they are seldom less than 820 feet (250 meters) above sea level. The area is not a sand desert but comprises rock and gravel steppe; a mountainous region in the south-central area is known as Al-Ḥamād.
The Euphrates River is the most important water source and the only navigable river in Syria. It originates in Turkey and flows southeastward across the eastern part of Syria (seeTigris-Euphrates river system). The Euphrates Dam, constructed on the river at Tabqa, was completed in the 1970s. The reservoir behind the dam, Lake Al-Asad, began to fill in 1973.
The Orontes is the principal river of the mountainous region. It rises in Lebanon, flows northward through the mountains and the Ghāb Depression, and enters the Mediterranean near Antioch, Turkey. The Yarmouk River, a tributary of the Jordan River, drains the Jabal Al-Durūz and Hauran regions and forms part of the border with Jordan in the southwest.
Scattered lakes are found in Syria. The largest is Al-Jabbūl, a seasonal saline lake that permanently covers a minimum area of about 60 square miles (155 square km) southeast of Aleppo. Other major salt lakes are Jayrūd to the northeast of Damascus and Khātūniyyah to the northeast of Al-Hasakah. Lake Muzayrīb, a small body of fresh water, is located northwest of Daraa; the larger Lake Qattinah (Lake Homs), a reservoir, is west of Homs.
Most of the country’s drainage flows underground. On the surface, impervious rocks—consisting of clay, marl (clay, sand, or silt), and greensand—cover a relatively small area. Porous rocks cover about half of the country and are mainly sandstone or chalk. Highly porous rocks consist of basalt and limestone. Water penetrates the porous rocks, forming underground springs, rivers, or subterranean water sheets close to the surface. Although the springs are profuse, the water sheets are quickly exhausted and may turn saline in areas of low precipitation.
Soils
Because of aridity, vegetation plays only a secondary role in soil composition. With the exception of the black soil in the northeastern region of Al-Jazīrah, soils are deficient in phosphorus and organic matter. The most common soils are various clays and loams (mixtures of clay, sand, and silt). Some are calcareous (chalky); others, especially in the area of the Euphrates valley, contain gypsum. Alluvial soils occur mainly in the valleys of the Euphrates and its tributaries and in the Ghāb Depression.
The coast and the western mountains have a Mediterranean climate with a long dry season from May to October. In the extreme northwest there is some light summer rain. On the coast summers are hot, with mean daily maximum temperatures in the low to mid-80s F (upper 20s C), while the mild winters have daily mean minimum temperatures reaching the low 50s F (low 10s C). Only above about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) are the summers relatively cool. Inland the climate becomes arid, with colder winters and hotter summers. Maximum temperatures in Damascus and Aleppo average in the 90s F (mid-30s C) in summer, while temperatures reach average lows in the mid-30s to low 40s F (1 to 4 °C) in winter. In the desert, at Tadmur and Deir al-Zour, maximum temperatures in the summer reach averages in the upper 90s to low 100s F (upper 30s to low 40s C), with extremes in the 110s F (mid- to upper 40s C). Snow may occur in winter away from the coast, and frosts are common.
The coast and western mountains receive 30 to 40 inches (760 to 1000 mm) of precipitation annually. Annual precipitation decreases rapidly eastward: the steppe receives 10 to 20 inches (250 to 500 mm), Mount Al-Durūz receives more than 8 inches (200 mm), and the desert area of Al-Ḥamād receives less than 5 inches (130 mm). Precipitation is variable from year to year, particularly in the spring and autumn months.
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