Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · Low income
Syria: the economy in numbers
Per person: $1,057, or $4,905 at purchasing power parity. Population: 25.6 million (2025).
$23.7B−0.2%real GDP growth, 2022
GDP in 2022, current US dollars.
GDP per capita
$1,057
2022
GDP per capita, PPP
$4,905
2022
Inflation
13.4%
2019
Government debt
31.2%
2009 · % of GDP, general government
Population
25.6M
2025 · #57 of 217
Unemployment
13.6%
2025 · ILO estimate
Life expectancy
72.6 years
2024
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $9.34 billion in 1960, $26.1 billion in 2022.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,999 per person in 1960, $1,164 in 2022.
GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)
Real GDP growth
Average over 2013–2022: −4.7% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 16 of 62.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 10.7 times from 2000 to 2019. Highest annual inflation: 59.5% in 1987.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1990: 189.8% of GDP in 1990.
Population
1960: 4.67 million · 2025: 25.6 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 6.8% · 2025: 13.6%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 52.7 years · 2024: 72.6 years.
Exports of goods and services
1960: 21.4% · 2022: 6.8%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 25.6M | 13.6% | ||||||||
| 2024 | 24.7M | 13.4% | 72.6 | |||||||
| 2023 | 23.6M | 13.3% | 72.1 | |||||||
| 2022 | $23.7B | $1,057 | $4,905 | −0.2% | 22.5M | 13.2% | 72.8 | 6.8% | ||
| 2021 | $14.9B | $689 | $4,766 | 1.8% | 21.6M | 14.9% | 72.4 | 15.0% | ||
| 2020 | $12.5B | $594 | $3,878 | 1.0% | 21M | 15.2% | 71.9 | 13.2% | ||
| 2019 | $22.6B | $1,110 | $3,502 | 1.2% | 13.4% | 20.4M | 13.4% | 71.0 | 13.0% | |
| 2018 | $21.5B | $1,098 | $3,456 | 1.4% | 0.9% | 19.6M | 13.5% | 67.4 | 14.9% | |
| 2017 | $16.4B | $852 | $3,265 | −0.7% | 18.1% | 19.2M | 13.6% | 65.7 | 19.3% | |
| 2016 | $12.6B | $656 | −6.4% | 47.7% | 19.2M | 13.8% | 65.2 | 21.7% | ||
| 2015 | $16.5B | $848 | −4.2% | 38.5% | 19.4M | 14.2% | 63.3 | 14.3% | ||
| 2014 | $21.5B | $1,061 | −10.3% | 10.9% | 20.3M | 14.8% | 65.5 | 7.0% | ||
| 2013 | $21.4B | $986 | −26.3% | 40.0% | 21.7M | 14.5% | 65.1 | 7.8% | ||
| 2012 | $43.2B | $1,898 | −26.3% | 36.7% | 22.8M | 13.8% | 66.2 | 7.7% | ||
| 2011 | $67.5B | $2,952 | 2.9% | 4.8% | 22.9M | 8.6% | 72.3 | 19.4% | ||
| 2010 | $61.4B | $2,731 | 5.2% | 4.4% | 30.0%e | 22.5M | 8.6% | 73.5 | 32.2% | |
| 2009 | $54.1B | $2,462 | 5.9% | 2.9% | 31.2% | 22M | 8.1% | 73.5 | 29.1% | |
| 2008 | $52.6B | $2,429 | 4.5% | 15.7% | 37.3% | 21.6M | 10.9% | 73.4 | 37.6% | |
| 2007 | $40.5B | $1,938 | 5.7% | 3.9% | 42.7% | 20.9M | 8.4% | 73.3 | 38.6% | |
| 2006 | $33.8B | $1,719 | 5.0% | 10.0% | 45.0% | 19.6M | 8.2% | 73.0 | 39.0% | |
| 2005 | $28.9B | $1,534 | 6.2% | 7.2% | 50.7% | 18.8M | 8.8% | 72.8 | 41.0% | |
| 2004 | $25.1B | $1,368 | 6.9% | 4.4% | 113.0% | 18.3M | 9.5% | 72.5 | 40.4% | |
| 2003 | $21.8B | $1,220 | 0.6% | 5.8% | 133.4% | 17.9M | 10.3% | 72.2 | 32.2% | |
| 2002 | $20.8B | $1,190 | 7.9% | −0.1% | 132.4% | 17.5M | 10.9% | 71.7 | 39.5% | |
| 2001 | $20.1B | $1,178 | 3.8% | 3.0% | 144.5% | 17.1M | 11.6% | 71.3 | 37.2% | |
| 2000 | $18.9B | $1,138 | 0.7% | −3.8% | 152.1% | 16.6M | 9.6% | 70.9 | 36.1% | |
| 1999 | $15.9B | $978 | −3.6% | −3.7% | 147.7% | 16.2M | 7.6% | 70.5 | 32.3% | |
| 1998 | $15.2B | $961 | 6.8% | −0.8% | 151.2% | 15.8M | 7.4% | 70.2 | 30.5% | |
| 1997 | $14.5B | $941 | 5.0% | 1.9% | 147.6% | 15.4M | 7.3% | 70.2 | 32.4% | |
| 1996 | $13.8B | $918 | 9.8% | 8.2% | 141.5% | 15M | 7.2% | 70.2 | 31.8% | |
| 1995 | $11.4B | $780 | 7.0% | 8.0% | 152.6% | 14.6M | 7.2% | 70.2 | 31.0% | |
| 1994 | $10.1B | $712 | 7.2% | 15.3% | 163.0% | 14.2M | 7.5% | 70.3 | 33.1% | |
| 1993 | $13.7B | $993 | 6.2% | 13.2% | 171.9% | 13.8M | 7.4% | 70.3 | 27.9% | |
| 1992 | $13.3B | $990 | 13.0% | 11.0% | 173.6% | 13.4M | 6.9% | 70.2 | 26.3% | |
| 1991 | $13B | $1,000 | 7.7% | 9.0% | 182.4% | 13M | 6.8% | 70.1 | 24.4% | |
| 1990 | $12.3B | $978 | 3.7% | 19.4% | 189.8% | 12.6M | 69.8 | 28.3% | ||
| 1989 | $9.85B | $809 | −13.6% | 11.4% | 12.2M | 69.5 | 30.1% | |||
| 1988 | $10.6B | $898 | 18.0% | 34.6% | 11.8M | 69.2 | 16.8% | |||
| 1987 | $11.4B | $997 | 1.7% | 59.5% | 11.4M | 68.8 | 15.7% | |||
| 1986 | $13.3B | $1,208 | −8.0% | 36.1% | 11M | 68.4 | 11.3% | |||
| 1985 | $16.4B | $1,544 | 9.4% | 17.3% | 10.6M | 68.0 | 12.0% | |||
| 1984 | $17.5B | $1,706 | −7.6% | 9.2% | 10.3M | 67.7 | 12.4% | |||
| 1983 | $17.6B | $1,776 | 2.3% | 6.1% | 9.9M | 67.3 | 13.3% | |||
| 1982 | $16.3B | $1,703 | 2.8% | 14.3% | 9.57M | 60.8 | 13.9% | |||
| 1981 | $15.5B | $1,676 | 7.8% | 18.4% | 9.26M | 64.6 | 15.6% | |||
| 1980 | $13.1B | $1,458 | 14.5% | 19.3% | 8.96M | 66.5 | 18.2% | |||
| 1979 | $9.93B | $1,146 | 0.9% | 4.6% | 8.66M | 66.2 | 19.1% | |||
| 1978 | $9.28B | $1,108 | 9.9% | 4.8% | 8.37M | 65.9 | 14.8% | |||
| 1977 | $7.7B | $951 | −1.8% | 12.0% | 8.09M | 65.4 | 18.2% | |||
| 1976 | $7.63B | $976 | 12.3% | 11.4% | 7.82M | 64.8 | 19.5% | |||
| 1975 | $6.83B | $904 | 16.4% | 11.5% | 7.55M | 64.2 | 21.4% | |||
| 1974 | $5.16B | $707 | 25.8% | 15.5% | 7.3M | 63.4 | 24.1% | |||
| 1973 | $3.24B | $459 | −10.5% | 20.4% | 7.06M | 60.8 | 22.1% | |||
| 1972 | $3.06B | $448 | 25.7% | 2.1% | 6.83M | 62.0 | 18.1% | |||
| 1971 | $2.59B | $393 | 9.0% | 5.6% | 6.6M | 61.3 | 17.3% | |||
| 1970 | $2.14B | $335 | −1.8% | 4.6% | 6.38M | 60.6 | 17.5% | |||
| 1969 | $2.25B | $364 | 18.8% | −2.0% | 6.18M | 59.8 | 17.1% | |||
| 1968 | $1.75B | $293 | 3.7% | 2.8% | 5.98M | 59.1 | 17.4% | |||
| 1967 | $1.58B | $273 | 8.3% | 6.5% | 5.79M | 58.0 | 15.8% | |||
| 1966 | $1.34B | $239 | −7.7% | 3.8% | 5.61M | 57.5 | 17.7% | |||
| 1965 | $1.47B | $271 | 2.3% | −3.9% | 5.44M | 56.9 | 17.0% | |||
| 1964 | $1.34B | $254 | 9.3% | 5.4% | 5.27M | 56.2 | 16.7% | |||
| 1963 | $1.2B | $235 | −8.7% | 1.9% | 5.11M | 55.4 | 19.4% | |||
| 1962 | $1.11B | $224 | 24.5% | −3.8% | 4.96M | 54.6 | 20.9% | |||
| 1961 | $945M | $196 | 10.8% | 2.0% | 4.82M | 53.7 | 17.6% | |||
| 1960 | $858M | $184 | 5.1% | 4.67M | 52.7 | 21.4% |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Afghanistan · Algeria · Bahrain · Djibouti · Egypt · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Jordan · Kuwait · Lebanon · Libya · Malta · Morocco · Oman · Pakistan · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Syria · Tunisia · United Arab Emirates · West Bank and Gaza · Yemen
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)