Lebanon vs. Syria
Geography
| Lebanon | Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Area | total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 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 one-third the size of Maryland | slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Pennsylvania |
| Land boundaries | total: 484 km border countries (2): Israel 81 km, Syria 403 km | total: 2,363 km border countries (5): Iraq 599 km, Israel 83 km, Jordan 379 km, Lebanon 403 km, Turkey 899 km |
| Coastline | 225 km | 193 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm |
| Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; the Lebanon Mountains experience heavy winter snows | 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 | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Qornet es Saouda 3,088 m lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m mean elevation: 1,250 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 | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 63.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 12.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 39.1% (2018 est.) forest: 13.4% (2018 est.) other: 23.3% (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 | 1,040 sq km (2012) | 14,280 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes; dust storms, sandstorms | 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 | deforestation; soil deterioration, erosion; desertification; species loss; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills; waste-water management | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation | 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 | smallest country in continental Asia; Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity | 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 | 4.503 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 16.802 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the majority of the people live on or near the Mediterranean coast, and of these most live in and around the capital, Beirut; favorable growing conditions in the Bekaa Valley, on the southeastern side of the Lebanon Mountains, have attracted farmers and thus the area exhibits a smaller population density | 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
