Jordan vs. Syria
Geography
| Jordan | Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Area | total: 89,342 sq km land: 88,802 sq km water: 540 sq km | total: 187,437 sq km land: 185,887 sq km water: 1,550 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area - comparative | about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,744 km border countries (5): Iraq 179 km, Israel 307 km, Saudi Arabia 731 km, Syria 379 km, West Bank 148 km | total: 2,363 km border countries (5): Iraq 599 km, Israel 83 km, Jordan 379 km, Lebanon 403 km, Turkey 899 km |
| Coastline | 26 km | 193 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm |
| Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
| Terrain | mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m mean elevation: 812 m | highest point: Mount Hermon (Jabal a-Shayk) 2,814 m lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -208 m mean elevation: 514 m |
| Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 11.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 8.4% (2018 est.) forest: 1.1% (2018 est.) other: 87.5% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 75.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 25.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 5.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 44.6% (2018 est.) forest: 2.7% (2018 est.) other: 21.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 964 sq km (2012) | 14,280 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods | dust storms, sandstorms volcanism: Syria's two historically active volcanoes, Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border have not erupted in centuries |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural freshwater resources; declining water table; salinity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; biodiversity and ecosystem damage/loss | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; depletion of water resources; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Geography - note | strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba) | the capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights (2017) |
| Total renewable water resources | 937 million cubic meters (2017 est.) | 16.802 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba | significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus, Aleppo (the country's largest city), and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain, the province of Halab, and the Euphrates River valley note: the ongoing civil war has altered the population distribution |
Source: CIA Factbook
