Syrian Arab Republic - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Syrian Arab Republic was 17,500,660 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 21,362,540 in 2010 and a minimum value of 4,573,514 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 4,573,514
1961 4,721,893
1962 4,875,429
1963 5,034,639
1964 5,200,341
1965 5,373,137
1966 5,553,247
1967 5,740,702
1968 5,935,850
1969 6,139,054
1970 6,350,544
1971 6,570,859
1972 6,800,148
1973 7,037,860
1974 7,283,181
1975 7,535,715
1976 7,794,658
1977 8,060,652
1978 8,336,421
1979 8,625,693
1980 8,930,776
1981 9,252,854
1982 9,590,226
1983 9,938,852
1984 10,293,050
1985 10,648,630
1986 11,004,270
1987 11,360,850
1988 11,719,060
1989 12,080,440
1990 12,446,170
1991 12,815,400
1992 13,187,670
1993 13,565,070
1994 13,950,490
1995 14,345,490
1996 14,754,150
1997 15,175,310
1998 15,599,590
1999 16,013,990
2000 16,410,850
2001 16,766,560
2002 17,084,630
2003 17,415,210
2004 17,827,830
2005 18,361,180
2006 19,059,260
2007 19,878,260
2008 20,664,040
2009 21,205,870
2010 21,362,540
2011 21,081,810
2012 20,438,860
2013 19,578,470
2014 18,710,710
2015 17,997,410
2016 17,465,570
2017 17,095,670
2018 16,945,060
2019 17,070,130
2020 17,500,660

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population