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Syria vs. Lebanon

Demographics

SyriaLebanon
Population20,384,316 (July 2021 est.)

note: approximately 22,900 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights (2018)
5,261,372 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 33.47% (male 3,323,072/female 3,170,444)

15-24 years: 19.34% (male 1,872,903/female 1,879,564)

25-54 years: 37.31% (male 3,558,241/female 3,679,596)

55-64 years: 5.41% (male 516,209/female 534,189)

65 years and over: 4.46% (male 404,813/female 459,417) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 20.75% (male 581,015/female 554,175)

15-24 years: 14.98% (male 417,739/female 401,357)

25-54 years: 46.69% (male 1,296,250/female 1,257,273)

55-64 years: 9.62% (male 250,653/female 275,670)

65 years and over: 7.96% (male 187,001/female 248,479) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 23.5 years

male: 23 years

female: 24 years (2020 est.)
total: 33.7 years

male: 33.1 years

female: 34.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate5.32% NA (2021 est.)0.68% (2021 est.)
Birth rate23.25 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)13.35 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate4.36 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)5.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate34.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population NA (2021 est.)-0.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 16.27 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 17.95 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 14.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 74.01 years

male: 72.54 years

female: 75.57 years (2021 est.)
total population: 78.53 years

male: 77.12 years

female: 80 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate2.85 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.71 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020)<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Syrian(s)

adjective: Syrian
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic groupsArab ~50%, Alawite ~15%, Kurd ~10%, Levantine ~10%, other ~15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrian, Turkoman, Armenian)Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendants of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS<1,000 (2020)2,700 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili, and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (includes Orthodox, Uniate, and Nestorian), Druze 3%

note:  the Christian population may be considerably smaller as a result of Christians fleeing the country during the ongoing civil war
Muslim 61.1% (30.6% Sunni, 30.5% Shia, smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailis), Christian 33.7% (Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group), Druze 5.2%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, and Hindus (2018 est.)

note: data represent the religious affiliation of the citizen population (data do not include Lebanon's sizable Syrian and Palestinian refugee populations); 18 religious sects recognized
HIV/AIDS - deaths<100 (2020)<100 (2020 est.)
LanguagesArabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English

major-language sample(s):
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Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 86.4%

male: 91.7%

female: 81% (2015)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.1%

male: 96.9%

female: 93.3% (2018)
Food insecurityexceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies: due to civil conflict and a stagnant economy - a nationwide food security assessment estimates that about 12.4 million people (60% of the overall population) are now food insecure in 2021, 5.4 million more than at the end of 2019, mostly due to constrained livelihood opportunities and a rapidly worsening economy; although some international food assistance is being provided, Syrian refugees are also pressuring host communities' resources in neighboring countries (2021)exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies:

due to the ongoing financial and economic crisis - in August 2020, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia estimated that more than 55% of the population lived in poverty, up from 28% in 2019; current figures are likely to be higher due to a fall in households' purchasing power; the already worrisome economic conditions, with increasing unemployment, poverty, and skyrocketing inflation rates, have further worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to contain the spread of the disease

(2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2013)
total: 11 years

male: 12 years

female: 11 years (2014)
Education expendituresNA2.5% of GDP (2013)
Urbanizationurban population: 56.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 5.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 89.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: -1.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 99% of population

rural: 99.3% of population

total: 99.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 1% of population

rural: 0.7% of population

total: 0.6% of population (2017 est.)
improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 99.6% of population

rural: 98.6% of population

total: 99.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population

rural: 1.4% of population

total: 0.9% of population (2017 est.)
improved: total: 99% of population

unimproved: total: 1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population2.440 million DAMASCUS (capital), 2.004 million Aleppo, 1.362 million Hims (Homs), 940,000 Hamah (2021)2.435 million BEIRUT (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate31 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)29 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Physicians density1.29 physicians/1,000 population (2016)2.1 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)2.7 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate27.8% (2016)32% (2016)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 55.4

youth dependency ratio: 47.8

elderly dependency ratio: 7.6

potential support ratio: 13.2 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 48.4

youth dependency ratio: 37.2

elderly dependency ratio: 11.2

potential support ratio: 8.9 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook