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Syria: Peoples. Languages. Religions
INTRODUCTION
1. Political situation
2. Economy
3. Health. Education
4. Peoples. Languages. Religions
5. History
| RELIGIONS |
Islam
|
17,800,000 |
89% |
|
Sunni
|
14,900,000 |
75% |
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Shi'i
|
700,000 |
3.5% |
| |
Twelver
|
700,000 |
3.5% |
|
Alawites*)
|
2,200,000 |
11% |
Isma'ilism *)
|
200,000 |
1% |
Christians
|
1,670,000 |
8.5% |
|
Syrian Orthodox
|
680,000 |
3.4% |
|
Greek Orthodox
|
250,000 |
1.1% |
|
Armenian Orthodox
|
160,000 |
0.8% |
|
Copts
|
70,000 |
0.4% |
|
Protestants
|
110,000 |
0.6% |
|
Armenian Catholics
|
30,000 |
0.1% |
|
Chaldean Catholic Church
|
25,000 |
0.1% |
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Maronite Church
|
60,000 |
0.3% |
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Melkite Greek Catholics
|
240,000 |
1,2% |
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Syrian Catholics
|
30,000 |
0.2% |
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Roman Catholics
|
15,000 |
0.1% |
Yazidism
|
30,000 |
0.2% |
Druze
|
300,000 |
1.7% |
| Judaism |
250 |
<0.1% |
*) Isma'ilism is usually classified as part of Shi'i Islam, but is best considered an independent religion. Alawism also has all traces of an inpdendent religious system, but has received official confirmation of belonging to Islam.
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PEOPLES
Syria has a wider range of ethnic groups than most other Middle Eastern nations. The Arabs represent the largest group, but many in this group have their origin from people from other ethnic groups that have joined the Arabs through marriage and Arabization up through the centuries. They represent today between 65 and 85% of the total population of Syria.
The second largest group are the Bedouins, who often refer to themselves as Arabs, and who often do not lead their traditional nomadic and semi-nomadic lives anymore. They represent between 5 and 15% of the population.
The third largest group are the Kurds who live in the northeast of Syria, an area where they represent the majority. Their number is between 5 and 15% of the population of all of Syria.
The fourth largest group are Turks who live in the north near the border to Turkey. They represent between 1 and 5% of Syria's population. Other groups are the Armenians in the north (around 1%), Turkmens all over the country (less than 1%) and Assyrians all over the country (less than 1%) but more in the eastern regions.
LANGUAGES
Most of theses peoples are losing their languages, and use the dominating Arabic — this even applies to many of the Kurds. There are two important dialect zones in Syria, where there is one dialect of Arabic around the city of Aleppo, and another around Damascus.
Still there are groups who use their original language. Many Kurds in the most extreme eastern parts of Syria speak Kurdish, Armenians living in Aleppo use their language between themselves, and Turks living close to Turkey speak Turkish. In a couple of villages near Damascus, a dialect of Aramaic is spoken — the only living remainder of this language that dominated the Middle East 2000 years ago.
RELIGIONS
Muslims represent an estimated 86% of the Syrian population with a strong domination of Sunnis. The Alawites are considered Muslims, although their faith differs strongly from Sunni and Shi'i. The Druze have a substantial community in Syria, a group usually not considered to be Muslims. As a matter of fact, the Druze of Syria outnumber the Druze community of Lebanon. Of the Shi's, 1- 2% are Isma'ilis and 1-4% Twelvers.
Slightly less than 10% of the Syrians are Christians, but these are divided between several churches: Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic (which is organized between a number of sub-churches: Armenian, Chaldean, Latin, Maronite, Melkite and Syrian), Anglican and Protestant. The largest of these are the Syrian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic.
Syria also has a tiny group of Yazidis, who live near the border to Iraq, near the town of Sinjar. There is also a small group of Jews, not counting more than 4,000, where almost all live in Damascus.
© Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved
By: Tore Kjeilen
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