8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Asia / Western Asia

Born in Syria

About 1 in 253 people born in 2023 started life in Syria. A boy can expect to live 70 years and a girl 74, up from 41 and 44 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 94% have basic drinking water.

1 in 253
odds of being born here
521,600 births · Ranked 53rd of 230
70 / 74
years of life, boys / girls
Was 41 / 44 in 1950
$1,883
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 173rd of 203 · extrapolated
72%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 30 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 283 in every 1,000 births to 23.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth69.8 years for boys, 74.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 523.1 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year119,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.5World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles74%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year23 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.7.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.71UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.8 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 36 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2022
9%Poorest fifth
14%Second
18%Middle
23%Fourth
36%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,883 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth36% / 9% (2022)World Bank PIP
Unemployment13.3% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises13.4% a year (2019)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-3.9% (2022)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming17% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed42% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment40% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Aleppo, with 2.1 million people.

72%
live in cities
88%
have electricity at home
94%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Aleppo2.1 million
Damascus1.6 million
Homs775,404
Latakia709,000
Ar Raqqah531,952
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Arabic80%
Kurdish8%
French6%
Armenian2%
Arabic is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Aleppo2.8 million
Damascus Governorate1.7 million
Homs1.0 million
Latakia804,915
Rif-dimashq802,118
Hama710,552
Al-Hasakah681,289
Raqqa619,832
Tartus525,208
Deir ez-Zor438,657

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 14 regions
  • Aleppo2.8 million
  • Damascus Governorate1.7 million
  • Homs1.0 million
  • Latakia804,915
  • Rif-dimashq802,118
  • Hama710,552
  • Al-Hasakah681,289
  • Raqqa619,832
  • Tartus525,208
  • Deir ez-Zor438,657
  • Idlib435,557
  • Daraa340,457
  • Suwayda59,052
  • Quneitra36,143

People on the move

About 36% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Turkey, Jordan, Germany.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Turkey3,563,983
Jordan1,593,643
Germany860,697
Residents born abroad3.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 36.2% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostTurkey (3.6 million), Jordan (1.6 million), Germany (860,697)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $1.6 billion a year (2010)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

17% of older people receive a pension.

17%
of older people receive a pension (2006)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20243,163Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence413,302 between 2011 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Syria, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Syria

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences