FACTS

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey

Area (only Total) total: 185,180 sq km

Climate: 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: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west

Population: 19,747,586

Main Language (only first): Arabic

Government type: republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime

Capital (Name): Damascus

Capital (Time Difference): UTC+2

Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 17 April (1946)