Middle East & North Africa
A life that begins in Syrian Arab Republic
One in every 226 babies in the world is born here: about 593,420 a year, 1.1 a minute.
- Population
- 25,620,427
- Births a year
- 593,420
- Life expectancy
- 72.6
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 18.4
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
74.9
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
70.2
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
17.7
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
18.4
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
20
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.1
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
≈ 21
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
0.09
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
14.9
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
2.1
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
2.7
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
13
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
68
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
39
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
44
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
6.6
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$4,579
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
26
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
18
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
13.6
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
16
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
13
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
72
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
72
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
89
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
94
World: 91
Internet users (%)
34
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
3.46
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
8.54
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
18.99
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 52.8 → 2026: 73.2 → 2050: 77
World
1960: 173 → 2026: 19 → 2050: 17
World
1960: 7.5 → 2026: 2.6 → 2050: 2.1
World
1960: 40 → 2026: 73 → 2050: 81
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Syrian Arab Republic comes up about once in every 226 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Middle East & North Africa
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.