Ethnic Syrians are of Semitic stock. Syria's population is 90% Muslim, 74% Sunni, and 16% other Muslim groups, including the Alawi, Shia, and Druze--and 10% Christian. There also is a small Syrian Jewish community. Arabic is the official, and most widely spoken, language. Arabs, including some 300,000 Palestinian refugees, make up 90% of the population. Many educated Syrians also speak English or French, but English is the more widely understood. The Kurds, many of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well. Armenian and Turkic are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations.

POPULATION GRAPH

  

Population:

21,762,978 country comparison to the world: 52 note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2009 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 36.4% (male 4,063,367/female 3,864,099) 15-64 years: 59.9% (male 6,628,644/female 6,406,864) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 372,172/female 427,832) (2009 est.)

Median age:

total: 21.7 years male: 21.6 years female: 21.9 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.006% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 59

Birth rate:

25 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 72

Death rate:

3.72 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 209

Net migration rate:

NA (2009 est.)

Urbanization:

urban population: 54% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 3.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 16.69 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 119 male: 19.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 74.22 years country comparison to the world: 92 male: 71.87 years female: 76.7 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.12 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 67

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2001 est.) country comparison to the world: 160

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 500 (2003 est.) country comparison to the world: 151

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer than 200 (2003 est.) country comparison to the world: 117

Nationality:

noun: Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups:

Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%

Religions:

Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

Languages:

Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.6% male: 86% female: 73.6% (2004 census)

Education expenditures: