Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
@Syria:Economy
Overview: In 1990-93 Syria's state-dominated Ba'thist economy benefited from the Gulf war, increased oil production, good weather, and economic deregulation. Economic growth averaged roughly 10%. The Gulf war provided Syria an aid windfall of nearly $5 billion dollars from Arab, European, and Japanese donors. However, the benefits of the 1990-93 boom were not evenly distributed and the gap between rich and poor is widening. A nationwide financial scandal and increasing inflation were accompanied by a decline in GDP growth to 4% in 1994. For the long run, Syria's economy is still saddled with a large number of poorly performing public sector firms, and industrial productivity remains to be improved. Oil production is likely to fall off dramatically by the end of the decade. Unemployment will become a problem for the government when the more than 60% of the population under the age of 20 enter the labor force.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $74.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,000 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.3% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1993 est.)
Budget: NA
Exports: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: petroleum 53%, textiles 22%, cotton, fruits and vegetables, wheat, barley, chickens partners: EC 48%, former CEMA countries 24%, Arab countries 18% (1991)