The Syrian Arab Republic is situated in the Middle East. It borders Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Turkey. Remains from one of the oldest known civilisations, a great Semitic empire from 2500 BC, have been found in Syria.

The region has been populated by many of the tribes known from the Bible, including the Canaanites and the Phoenicians. The Persians also ruled the region, before Alexander the Great conquered the region. After the Macedonians it fell under Roman rule. In the 7th century, Syria was conquered by the Arabs, so the area was part of the Islamic empire. However, in the 12th century some parts became principalities of the Crusaders.

The following three hundred years saw Syria in the middle of a conflict between Mongols and Egyptians. From the 16th to the 20th Century, Syria was a part of the Ottoman Empire. After the World War I, present day Syria became a French mandate, which lasted until 1944, when Syria was recognised as an independent republic. Since then Syria has been plagued with political instability and was briefly in union with Egypt. It has, furthermore, been involved in several wars with Israel, which continues to occupy Syrian territory in the Golan Heights. From 1976 to 2005, Syria had a significant military presence in Lebanon.

Inhabitants: 19,400,000
Area: 185,000 km2
Capital: Damascus (1,700,000 inhabitants)
Languages: Arabic
Religion: Muslims (90%), Catholics (5%), Christian orthodox (2%) , others (3%)
GBD per capita: $5,300
Government: Presidential republic
Climate: Mediterranean in the eastern part and arid desert in the west.