Country · Asia
Syria
Syrian Arab Republic
Syria is a country in Western Asia. About 16.9 million people live there, in an area of 185 180 square kilometres. Its capital city is Damascus.
Picture credit: Lazhar Neftien (CC BY 2.0) · High Contrast (CC BY 3.0 de) · JYB Devot (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Jacky Lee (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Syria?
Syria lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 896 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 193 km long.
It shares a border with 5 countries: Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye.
How big is Syria?
Syria covers 185 180 square kilometres.
That is about 4.5 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 87th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 91.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Syria?
About 16.9 million people live in Syria.
That is the 68th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic.
They pay with the Syrian pound (£).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 69 years.
The land of Syria
The land of Syria sits on average 514 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 193 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 10 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Syria different?
A dish the country is known for: Kibbeh.
Websites from here often end in .sy.
Syria and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in Syria.
It takes up about 0.14 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 24th of 46 by size, and 24th by population.
Syria and its neighbours
Türkiye, its largest neighbour, is about 4.2 times bigger.
Türkiye has more people: 82.3 million against 16.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Syria: Golden hamster. The highest mountain in the country is Talat Musa, at 2 669 metres. The longest river in the country is the Euphrates. The largest lake in the country is Sabkhat al-Jabbul.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Syria compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 51 times as big as Syria: 9 372 610 km² against 185 180 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 1.3 times as big as Syria: 242 900 km² against 185 180 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Syria?
The capital of Syria is Damascus. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Syria?
About 16.9 million people live in Syria, which makes it the 68th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Syria?
How big is Syria?
Syria covers 185 180 square kilometres, making it the 87th largest country in the world. That is about 4.5 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Syria?
The highest mountain in Syria is Talat Musa, 2 669 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Syria?
The longest river in Syria is the Euphrates. Of its 2 800 kilometres, about 710 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Syria?
The largest lake in Syria is Sabkhat al-Jabbul. It covers about 100 km².
Which continent is Syria in?
Syria is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made