Syrian Arab Republic Country Results Brief

The economy of the Syrian Arab Republic is based on agriculture, oil, industry and tourism. In recent years, there have been considerable improvements in the economic and social status of the population; however, the economic growth has not been pro-poor. Poverty affects 15.1 per cent of the population in rural areas, compared with 9.9 per cent in urban areas. Poverty is particularly concentrated in the northern region, which accounts for 55.5 per cent of the total number of poor people in the Syrian Arab Republic. This is mainly due to the high poverty rate in the rural areas of this region, which reached 19.7 per cent in 2007. Among other factors, climate change and the resulting deterioration and degradation of the ecosystem have contributed to increased poverty rates. In fact, climate change is causing a decrease in agricultural production and is adversely affecting the government’s food security target.