Syria Industry Sectors
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After World War II, Syria expanded from a primarily agricultural base to manufacturing of handicrafts, textiles and flour mills. Factories were established in the 50s and 60s which processed local agriculture and manufactured light consumer products.
After World War II, Syria expanded from a primarily agricultural base to manufacturing of handicrafts, textiles and flour mills. Factories were established in the 50s and 60s which processed local agriculture and manufactured light consumer products.
Nationalization measures taken in the 60s disrupted privately financed industrial expansion, so in the 70s, Syria embarked on a major industrial development program with a focus on heavy industry. Between 1953 and 1975, the average growth rate of the industrial sector was 8.3 percent, raising incomes and improving the standards of living.
Industry then stagnated with restrictive government controls and the lack of private finance, however. Manufacturing contributed 22.4 percent of GDP in 1976 but only 13.4 percent in 1984. Thankfully the government re-invested and the industrial sector has grown back to 27.9% by 2010.
Energy and Natural Resources
In the 70s and 80s, Syria’s crude oil reserves were small and production minor by Arab and international standards but oil played a vital role in Syria’s economy, generating much-needed foreign exchange.
Current estimates place Syria’s crude oil reservers at 2.5 billion barrels, with production running at 375,000 bbl/day and exports at 155,000 bbl/day.
The Syrian government nationalized the oil industry in 1964, and became an oil exporter in 1968 with the completion of a 663- kilometer pipeline to transport oil to a terminal at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. However Syria’s oil production remained virtually static in the mid- 1980s.
Oil contributes between 5% – 10% of Syria’s GDP.
Syria Energy Indicators at a Glance:
Oil – production: 375,000 bbl/day (2010 estimate)
Oil – exports: 155,000 bbl/day
Oil – imports: 58,710 bbl/day
Oil – proved reserves: 2.5 billion bbl
Natural gas – production: 6.04 billion cu m
Natural gas – exports: 0 cu m
Natural gas – imports: 140 million cu m
Natural gas – proved reserves: 240.7 billion cu m
Industrial Development
Syria withdrew from a customs union with Lebanon in 1950. Domestic manufacturing received considerable protection from competition by imports. The government also provided investment incentives through tax exemptions and cheap credit.
Data for the 1950s indicates growth rate of industrial production at 12 percent between 1950 and 1958.
Between 1958 and 1965, the government assumed a greater role in economic planning, and by 1965 had nationalized most of the larger manufacturing concerns – Syria experienced an almost complete reversal of development policy.
Through the complete or partial nationalization of 108 large- and medium-sized enterprises, the state created the nucleus of the public industrial sector in 1965.
Industrial Development at a Glance
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2010 est.)
Industries: petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing, car assembly
Agriculture: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, cumin, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
