Head of state: Bashar Hafez al-Assad
Head of government: Adel Safar, PM
Type of state: presidential republic
Land area: 185,180 km2
Capital: Damascus
Population: 22.19m
Ethnic groups: 90.3% Arabs, 9.7% Kurds and Armenians
Religions: 74% Sunni, 16% Alawite and Druze, 10% Christian 
Language: Arabic
Currency: Syrian pound (SYP)
Gross domestic product (GDP) 2010: USD 59.633bn
Change over previous year: +7.7%
Per capita GDP 2010: USD 2,474
Swiss colony 2010: 196 people
Swiss exports 2010: CHF 271.3m
Change over previous year: +29.6%
Swiss imports 2010: CHF 4.09 million
Change over previous year: -22.0%