Economy of Syria

Economy of Syria
	Bank Al-Sharq and the Blue Tower Hotel in Damascus
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	CAEU, GAFTA, G24, G77, World Bank, IMF
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Lower-middle income economy; Lower income economy;
Statistics
Population	18,604,031 (2021 est.)
GDP	$22.4 billion (nominal; 2019 est.); $57.25 billion (PPP; 2015 est.)/$136 billion (PPP; 2021 est.)
GDP rank	138th (nominal, 2019); 117th (PPP, 2015);
GDP growth	1.4% (2019)
GDP per capita	$6,373 (PPP; 2021)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 10.49%; industry: 26.51%; services: 63.0%; (2017 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	28.1% (2017 est.)
Population below poverty line	82.5% (2014 est.)
Human Development Index	0.557 medium (2022) (157th); N/A IHDI (2022);
Labour force	6,142,683 (2021)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 17%; industry: 16%; services: 67% (2008 est.);
Unemployment	50% (2021)
Main industries	Petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing, car assembly
External
Exports	$1.01 billion (2021)
Export goods	olive oil, spices, barley, nuts, cotton, tomatoes, soap, phosphates, cumin seeds, pistachios, glass, cleaning products, apples, pears, potatoes, and some pitted fruits (2021)
Main export partners	Saudi Arabia 30.9%; Turkey 18.1%; Lebanon 12.2%; Jordan 6.88%; Egypt 5.35%; UAE 4.83%; Kuwait 4.27%; Germany 2.02%; Serbia 1.57% (2021);
Imports	$4.5 billion (2021)
Import goods	cigarettes, tobacco, raw sugar, motor vehicles, broadcasting equipment, wheat flours, sunflower oil, liquefied petroleum gas, associated petroleum gas, refined petroleum, coffee and rice (2021)
Main import partners	Turkey 45%; China 11.1%; UAE 10.6%; Egypt 6.56%; Jordan 2.71%; India 2.67%; Lebanon 2.47%; Saudi Arabia 1.65%; Italy 1.59%; Germany 1.07% (2021);
Gross external debt	$7 billion (2020 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	67% of GDP (2021 est.)
Foreign reserves	$2.1 billion (2020 est.)
Revenues	$2.7 billion (2021 est.)
Expenses	$2.1 billion (2021 est.)
Economic aid	humanitarian aid $7.7 billion (2020 est.)
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Syria, primarily based on agriculture in the country's early years, deteriorated after the start of the Syrian civil war in March 2011.