_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
_#_Land boundaries: 2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
_#_Coastline: 193 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 6 nm beyond territorial sea limit;
Territorial sea: 35 nm
_#_Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey; periodic disputes with Iraq over Euphrates water rights; ongoing dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR
_#_Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast
_#_Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum