Syria Geography - 2024

Location

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey

Geographic coordinates

35 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 187,437 sq km

land: 185,887 sq km

water: 1,550 sq km

note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory

Area - comparative

slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 2,363 km

border countries (5): Iraq 599 km; Israel 83 km; Jordan 379 km; Lebanon 403 km; Turkey 899 km

Coastline

193 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate

mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus

Terrain

primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west

Elevation

highest point: Mount Hermon (Jabal a-Shayk) 2,814 m

lowest point: Yarmuk River -66 m

mean elevation: 514 m

Natural resources

petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower

Land use

agricultural land: 75.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 25.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 5.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 44.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 2.7% (2018 est.)

other: 21.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

13,100 sq km (2013)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Euphrates (shared with Turkey [s], Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris (shared with Turkey, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Population distribution

significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus, Aleppo (the country's largest city), and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain, the province of Halab, and the Euphrates River valley

note: the ongoing civil war has altered the population distribution

Natural hazards

dust storms, sandstorms

volcanism: Syria's two historically active volcanoes, Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border have not erupted in centuries

Geography - note

the capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights (2017)