Syria Population
Syria had an estimated population of 25,620,427 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 57th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.31% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +3.77% a year.
Syria at a glance
How Syria's population is changing
Syria's population is growing fast: +3.77% a year, which works out to about +965,638 people per year, or +2,644 a day. Births (23.2 per 1,000) and deaths (4.9 per 1,000) alone would give +1.82% a year; net migration adds about 421,693 people a year (+1.65%). Roughly one in every 321 people on Earth lives in Syria.
Population of Syria since 1960
In 1960, Syria had 4,673,500 people. By 2025 that was 25,620,427 — 5.5× larger. The fastest growth came between 1977 and 1987, when the population rose by 41%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4,673,500 | — |
| 1970 | 6,380,609 | +36.5% |
| 1980 | 8,957,663 | +40.4% |
| 1990 | 12,579,208 | +40.4% |
| 2000 | 16,637,888 | +32.3% |
| 2010 | 22,482,421 | +35.1% |
| 2020 | 21,049,429 | −6.4% |
| 2025 | 25,620,427 | +21.7% |
Syria from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Syria at about 1,250,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 25,620,419 in 2025 (20× 1800) and projects 43,686,650 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2086 at 44,149,493 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,250,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,479,045 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,768,504 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 3,612,085 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 16,637,884 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 25,620,419 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 37,793,375 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 43,575,373 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 43,686,650 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Syria
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 25,620,427. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damascus | 4,287,746 | UN urban centre | 16.74% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Aleppo | 2,922,277 | UN urban centre | 11.41% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Homs | 940,460 | UN urban centre | 3.67% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Latakia | 591,300 | UN urban centre | 2.31% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Ar Raqqah | 531,952 | GeoNames settlement | 2.08% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Ḩamāh | 460,602 | GeoNames settlement | 1.80% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Deir ez-Zor | 259,771 | UN urban centre | 1.01% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Al Ḩasakah | 235,085 | UN urban centre | 0.92% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Al Qāmishlī | 184,231 | GeoNames settlement | 0.72% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Manbij | 176,339 | UN urban centre | 0.69% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Syria compares
Syria has almost the same population as Mali (25,198,821).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Syria | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #55 |  Australia | 27,614,411 | +8% | compare → |
| #56 |  North Korea | 26,571,036 | +4% | compare → |
| #58 |  Mali | 25,198,821 | −2% | compare → |
| #59 |  Burkina Faso | 24,074,580 | −6% | compare → |
Compare Syria with any country →
Same region (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan): Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Explore around Syria
Land neighbours (5)
Türkiye 85,878,556 · 3.4× the population · compare
Iraq 47,020,774 · 1.8× the population · compare
Jordan 11,520,684 · 2.2× smaller · compare
Israel 10,122,800 · 2.5× smaller · compare
Lebanon 5,849,421 · 4.4× smaller · compare
Syria's 5 neighbours together hold 160,392,235 people — 6.3× Syria's population. The most populous is Türkiye (85,878,556).
In its region
Syria is the 10th most populous of the 23 economies in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, holding 3.1% of the region's 828,025,185 people.
Rankings featuring Syria
Cities
Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, Ar Raqqah, Ḩamāh, Deir ez-Zor, Al Ḩasakah — all Syria's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Syria when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.