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Welcome To Syria
Country number
62
Selected MR Agencies
  • Elephants Can't Jump

    Ensuring brand initiatives work in practice as well as in theory. To have marketplace impact, we believe every research assignment should consist of three elements consumer exploration or validation, within a competitive context, generating commercial outputs.
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  • Firefish Ltd

    29 full time staff, operating in all corners of the globe, on all manner of projects. No methodology is squashed to fit. We approach each brief with fresh eyes and minds, to make sure you get the most out of your research, helping your brand move forward.
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  • Grass Roots

    Grass Roots is one of Europe's largest performance improvement companies. Established in 1980, Grass Roots UK is the founding company of a group with offices and partners operating in 15 countries around the world.
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  • DIGITAL-MR

    In addition to Social Media Research (Web Listening) DigitalMRs solutions also include community panels, access panels, Web usability and a distinct focus on qualitativeresearch online.
    View full entry

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An Introduction to Syria

Syria is based in the fertile crescent of the Middle East widely known as 'The Cradle of Civilization'. In ancient times the country was occupied by every seafaring race which came along, amongst whom were the Canaanites, Phoenicians, Sumerians, Babylonians and eventually the Persians, Macedonians and the Romans. Modern Syria was created as a French Mandate in April 1946. Syria has been under Emergency Law since 1962, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens. Governed by the Baath Party since 1963, actual power is concentrated in the presidency and a narrow grouping of military and political strongmen. See full country profile.

Latest Research News from Middle East

Mar 21
Southeast Asia-based qual and quant marketing intelligence and panels provider Divergent Insights has appointed Swagata Moitra Ghosh to its Leadership Team as VP Global Research and Insights. Mar 21 2024
Feb 19
Yahoo has launched a rapid insights solution called PurpleLab, based on Qualtrics technology - initially in Australia and Southeast Asia. Feb 19 2024


2 current Middle Eastern jobs:

Director, Dubai, Remuneration package will be structured to reward skills, experience and expertise - (posted Apr 8 2024)
Survey Research Manager, Remote Working - Worldwide, $ Competitive salary - (posted Feb 27 2024)


Fast Facts
Map of Syria
CAPITAL: Damascus
GOVERNMENT: Republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime
AREA: 185,180 sq km
POPULATION: 22,198,110 (July 2010 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Arabic
Ancient Roman time town in Palmyra, Syria
Ancient Roman time town in Palmyra, Syria


Welcome to the old town Damascus lays a strong claim to the title of 'oldest inhabited city in the world'. Carbon-14 dating at Tell Ramad on the outskirts of Damascus suggests that the site may have been occupied since around 6,300 BC. There is also evidence of settlements in the wider area from about 9,000 BC. The city is mentioned in Genesis 14:15 as existing at the time of the War of the Kings (c.2000 BC), but the verse can also be understood to mean that Damascus existed when Genesis was written - by tradition around the 13th century BC.

The Old City has been placed by the World Monuments Fund on its Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.

A little More Knowledge?
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Syria in Profile

Syria is based in the fertile crescent of the Middle East widely known as 'The Cradle of Civilization'. In ancient times the country was occupied by every seafaring race which came along, amongst whom were the Canaanites, Phoenicians, Sumerians, Babylonians and eventually the Persians, Macedonians and the Romans. Modern Syria was created as a French Mandate in April 1946. Syria has been under Emergency Law since 1962, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens. Governed by the Baath Party since 1963, actual power is concentrated in the presidency and a narrow grouping of military and political strongmen.

Syrians have a very traditional society, in which a great deal of importance is attached to family life. Marriages and the birth of children are still occasions for elaborate, age old ceremonies and folk customs.

Some Business and General Info

GDP: $100.8 billion - $4,600 per capita (2009 est.)

Religions Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

Currency: Syrian Pound (SYP) - 1GBP = 73.71 SYP

Telephone Code: +963

Overview of the Research Industry

MR Association(s):

Association: We can find no evidence of an MR Association in Syria - but would be happy to be proved wrong! However, there are several agencies working in the country.

Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria) was the third-fastest growing market in the Middle East and Africa region in 2008, growing 10.1% year-on-year with a turnover of $13m.
Source: ESOMAR

Overview of Trade and Industry

According to the CIA World Factbook: Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Italy are Syria's main export partners, with exports totalling $11.76 billion in 2009. The main export commodities are crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat & live animals and wheat. The main import partners are Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Italy, Russia, Germany and Lebanon, with imports of machinery, food and livestock, metals, chemical products, yarn and paper totalling $12.62 billion in 2009.

According to Wikipedia Syria is a middle-income, developing country with a diversified economy based on agriculture, industry, and energy. Growth has been sporadic: GDP per capita climbed 80% in the 1960s and 336% during the 1970s, shrank by 33% during the 1980s but recovered to climb 12% in the 1990s. Since 1997 the economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7%, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points.

Foreign Aid to Syria In 1997 totalled an estimated US$199m. The World Bank reported that as of July 2004 it had committed a total of US$661 million for 20 operations in Syria.

My view
from...
Syria
Researchers Talk!
Have your say!
If you are a researcher based in Syria, in whatever capacity, then we would love to hear from you!

Email me:
laurence@mrweb.com

Views from...

If you are a researcher in Syria, in whatever capacity, then we would love to hear from you!