← Back to all countries
Syria
An ancient land in the eastern Mediterranean, Syria was home to some of humanity's earliest civilizations and the magnificent ancient cities of Damascus (one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities), Aleppo, and Palmyra. The devastating civil war that began in 2011 has caused massive displacement and destruction. Syria sits at a critical geopolitical crossroads between the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Desert.
Major cities: Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia
2024
24.7M
UN WPP
2050
37.8M
UN WPP
2100
43.7M
UN WPP
~2200
27.0M
Per-Country
~2500
11.0M
Per-Country
Population24.7M
Fertility (TFR)2.70
Life expectancy72.6
Median age22.2
Infant mortality19.0 per 1,000
Pop. density128/km²
Urbanization72%
Youth share (0-14)30%
Land area183,630 km²
LanguageArabic
ReligionMuslim
HDI0.564 (#162)
RegionAsia
Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.
UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100
| Year | Population | TFR | Life Exp. | CBR | CDR | Net Migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.61M | 7.62 | 42.5 | 45.6 | 26.6 | 0K | 1.9% |
| 1955 | 4.05M | 7.63 | 47.4 | 47.8 | 21.5 | 0K | 2.6% |
| 1960 | 4.67M | 7.51 | 52.7 | 47.4 | 16.6 | 0K | 3.1% |
| 1965 | 5.44M | 7.53 | 56.9 | 46.7 | 13.1 | -13K | 3.4% |
| 1970 | 6.38M | 7.62 | 60.6 | 46.5 | 10.4 | -20K | 3.6% |
| 1975 | 7.55M | 7.49 | 64.2 | 45.5 | 8.1 | -24K | 3.7% |
| 1980 | 8.96M | 7.12 | 66.5 | 43.7 | 6.6 | -33K | 3.7% |
| 1985 | 10.6M | 6.48 | 68.0 | 41.3 | 5.6 | -6K | 3.6% |
| 1990 | 12.6M | 5.56 | 69.8 | 37.3 | 4.8 | -7K | 3.3% |
| 1995 | 14.6M | 4.70 | 70.2 | 34.0 | 4.6 | -28K | 2.9% |
| 2000 | 16.6M | 4.07 | 70.9 | 31.2 | 4.4 | -34K | 2.7% |
| 2005 | 18.8M | 3.61 | 72.8 | 28.8 | 3.9 | +13K | 2.5% |
| 2010 | 22.5M | 3.35 | 73.5 | 28.7 | 3.8 | -54K | 2.5% |
| 2015 | 19.4M | 3.07 | 63.3 | 21.3 | 8.2 | -827K | 1.3% |
| 2020 | 21.0M | 2.84 | 71.9 | 20.6 | 5.1 | +269K | 1.6% |
| 2024Now | 24.7M | 2.70 | 72.6 | 23.2 | 4.9 | +546K | 1.8% |
| 2025 | 25.6M | 2.66 | 73.0 | 23.5 | 4.8 | +422K | 1.9% |
| 2030 | 29.4M | 2.48 | 74.0 | 23.1 | 4.8 | +108K | 1.8% |
| 2035 | 32.3M | 2.33 | 74.8 | 20.3 | 5.0 | +23K | 1.5% |
| 2040 | 34.5M | 2.22 | 75.6 | 16.9 | 5.3 | -4K | 1.2% |
| 2045 | 36.3M | 2.13 | 76.3 | 14.7 | 5.7 | +2K | 0.9% |
| 2050 | 37.8M | 2.06 | 77.0 | 14.3 | 6.1 | +9K | 0.8% |
| 2055 | 39.4M | 1.99 | 77.7 | 14.5 | 6.6 | -14K | 0.8% |
| 2060 | 40.8M | 1.95 | 78.5 | 14.3 | 7.0 | -16K | 0.7% |
| 2065 | 42.1M | 1.91 | 79.2 | 13.2 | 7.5 | +5K | 0.6% |
| 2070 | 43.0M | 1.87 | 79.9 | 12.0 | 8.1 | -25K | 0.4% |
| 2075 | 43.6M | 1.85 | 80.6 | 11.1 | 8.8 | -8K | 0.2% |
| 2080 | 43.9M | 1.82 | 81.4 | 10.8 | 9.7 | +49K | 0.1% |
| 2085 | 44.1M | 1.80 | 82.0 | 10.9 | 10.6 | +22K | 0.0% |
| 2090 | 44.1M | 1.78 | 82.7 | 10.8 | 11.2 | -13K | 0.0% |
| 2095 | 44.0M | 1.77 | 83.4 | 10.4 | 11.4 | +14K | -0.1% |
| 2100 | 43.7M | 1.76 | 84.0 | 9.9 | 11.2 | -11K | -0.1% |