ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Syrian Arab Republic

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Low income. Capital: Damascus. Population 25,620,427 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
4,685 7,217 9,749 1995 2022 4,579
GDP growth (%)
−25.6 −8.3 9.1 1995 2022 −0.2
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−2.8 21.9 46.7 1995 2019 13.4
Life expectancy at birth (years)
63.5 68.4 73.3 1995 2024 72.6

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 4,579 2022 −504 −2,717 164 of 199
GDP growth% −0.2% 2022 +0.5 pp +26.1 pp 194 of 209
GDP per person growth% −3.9% 2022 −3.0 pp +22.1 pp 205 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 720 2022 0 −1,260 194 of 201
Trade% of GDP 35.4% 2022 −25.6 pp +0.1 pp 168 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 1.2% 2011 * −0.8 pp +0.6 pp –

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 13.4% 2019 * +2.5 pp +10.5 pp –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 13.6% 2025 −1.6 pp −0.7 pp 20 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 25,620,427 2025 +4,570,998 +6,195,809 57 of 217
Population growth% annual 3.8% 2025 +0.4 pp +8.0 pp 5 of 217
Urban population% of total 72.1% 2025 −1.3 pp −3.7 pp 81 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 72.6 2024 +1.6 +7.1 130 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 17.7 2024 −3.4 −6.9 72 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 2.7% 2023 −1.2 pp −1.1 pp 184 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 94.4% 2021 – – 34 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 5.1% 2009 * −0.2 pp +0.6 pp –

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 33.8% 2018 * +7.6 pp +19.8 pp –
Access to electricity% of population 89.3% 2024 +0.1 pp −0.9 pp 163 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 26.4 2022 – – 80 of 85
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 18.0% 2022 – – 9 of 85

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 1.1% 2021 −0.2 pp −0.5 pp 190 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 5,355 −1.1 1,964 15,000 738 −4.6% 9% 17%
GDP growth −6.9% +0.6 5.0% 3.2% 11.0 – – –
GDP per person growth −6.5% +0.3 2.4% 1.9% 9.5 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 1,002 −0.7 830 5,475 385 −9.6% 2% 7%
Trade 50.8% −1.6 50.2% 83.8% 9.8 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 2.0% −0.6 – – 1.3 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 20.5% −0.4 – – 18.3 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 13.8% −0.4 4.4% 9.0% 0.7 – – –
Population 21,118,232 +2.3 24,074,580 11,520,684 1,942,324 +2.8% 874% 739%
Population growth 2.0% +0.6 2.6% 1.6% 2.9 – – –
Urban population 73.7% −1.3 34.5% 79.5% 1.2 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 68.7 +1.1 63.8 76.7 3.7 – – –
Infant mortality 22.0 −1.6 43.0 12.0 2.7 – – –
Health spending 3.8% −4.4 4.9% 5.6% 0.2 – – –
Government spending on education 5.2% −0.1 – – 0.7 – – –
Internet users 24.8% +1.5 – – 6.2 – – –
Access to electricity 89.0% +0.3 43.7% 100.0% 1.2 – – –
Renewable energy 1.5% −0.5 76.9% 3.7% 0.8 – – –

Compare Syrian Arab Republic with other countries