Most Syrians are of Semitic stock. The ethnic term Syrian includes all Arabic speaking Sunni Muslim, and Greek and Roman Christian Fellahin within the Levant (Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and the Israeli Administered Territories). Syria's population is 90% Muslim--74% Sunni, and 16% other Muslim groups, including the Alawi, Shi'a, and Druze--and 10% Christian. There also is a tiny (4,500) Syrian Jewish community. Semitic is a linguistic term referring to a subdivision of largely Middle Eastern Afro-Asiatic languages, the Semitic languages, as well as their speakers corresponding cultures, and ethnicities. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Alawite is a Middle Eastern Syria. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... The Druze (Arabic: duruzÄ« درزي, pl. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

Arabic is the official, and most widely spoken, language. Ethnic Syrians, including some 400,000 Palestinians, make up 85% 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 Turkish are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations respectively. Aramaic/West Syriac/Jacobite is still used by the native Aramean minority. There is also a tiny Israelite minority of 4,500. Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Palestinian flag, adopted in 1948, is a widely recognized modern symbol of the Palestinian people. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... The Kurdish languages (Kurdî ) belonging to the Indo-European languages family, are spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran (Persia), Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... There are several meanings to Turkmen: Related to the country Turkmenistan Turkmen language Turkmen people A breed of horse called the Turkoman This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28. ...

Most people live in the Euphrates River valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert. Overall population density is about 54/km² (140 per sq. mi.) Education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 11. Schooling consists of 6 years of primary education followed by a 3-year general or vocational training period and a 3-year academic or vocational program. The second 3-year period of academic training is required for university admission. Total enrollment at post-secondary schools is over 150,000. The literacy rate of Syrians aged 15 and older is 89.7% for males and 64% for females. The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, which is in Old Persian Ufrat, Aramaic Prâth/Frot, in Arabic الفرات, in Turkish Fırat and in ancient Assyrian language Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Bethnahrin in Aramaic), the other being the...

Ancient Syria's cultural and artistic achievements and contributions are many. Archaeologists have discovered extensive writings and evidence of a brilliant culture rivaling those of Mesopotamia and Egypt in and around the ancient city of Ebla. Later Syrian scholars and artists contributed to Hellenistic and Roman thought and culture. Zeno of Sidon founded the Epicurean school; Cicero was a pupil of Antiochus of Ascalon at Athens; and the writings of Posidonius of Apamea influenced Livy and Plutarch. Syrians have contributed to Arabic literature and music and have a proud tradition of oral and written poetry. Although declining, the world-famous handicraft industry still employs thousands. Sumerian list of gods in cuneiform script, ca. ... Ebla was an ancient city located in northern Syria, about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Zeno of Sidon, Epicurean philosopher of the 1st century BC and contemporary of Cicero. ... Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c340-c270 BC), founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. ... Marcus Tullius Cicero (standard English pronunciation ; Classical Latin pronunciation ) (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator and statesman of Ancient Rome, and is generally considered the greatest Latin orator and prose stylist. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Ashkelon or Ashqelon (Hebrew אשקלון; Arabic عسقلان ʿAsqalān; Latin Ascalon) was an ancient Philistine seaport on the east coast of the Mediterranian sea just north of Gaza. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... The bust of Posidonius as an older man depects his character as a Stoic philosopher. ... Apamea is located on the right bank of the Orontes River, about 55 km to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley. ... Bust of Livy Titus Livius (around 59 BC - 17 AD), known as Livy in English, wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab urbe condita, from its founding (traditionally dated to 753 BC). ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (ca. ... Arabic literature refers to all forms of literature written by Arabs or related to Arab culture. ... Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken (oral) word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. ...

Demographics of Syria, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 18,448,752 Image File history File links Subject : evolution of demography in Syria (1961-2003) Source : Data FAOSTAT, year 2005 : http://faostat. ... Image File history File links Subject : evolution of demography in Syria (1961-2003) Source : Data FAOSTAT, year 2005 : http://faostat. ... Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations programs seek to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural development; and, by these means, to eliminate hunger. ...

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795; female 3,350,799)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971; female 5,333,022)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868; female 317,052) (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.34% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.75 years
female: 71.38 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian

Ethnic groups: Syrian Arabs 85%, Kurds 9%, Fatimid 8%, Aramean (Jacobite: Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholic) 5%, Armenians and other 2%

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

Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood Circassian language is used in a number of ways: as a synonym for the Adyghe language; as a synonym for the Kabardian language; as a term for a distinct language that includes both Adyghe and Kabardian. ...

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9%
male: 89.7%
female: 64% (2003 est.)

See also : Syria