Syria: Another perpetrator pushing the 'Assad empire' to collapse quickly
Syria's economy has shrunk by 85% in nearly 14 years of civil war, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and causing hyperinflation. The extremely bad state of the economy has "contributed" the regime of President Bashar al-Assad - which has had more than a decade of steady resistance to many difficulties and rapid collapse
Since the uprisings since 2011, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has endured more than a decade of hardships ranging from civil war to layers of international sanctions.
The civil war is painful, what is left of the Syrian economy?
Syria's economy was valued at $67.5 billion (63.9 billion euros) in 2011. The country is ranked 68th out of 196 countries in the global GDP ranking, which is equivalent to Paraguay and Slovenia.
Sadly, 2011 was also the year that large-scale protests against President Bashar Assad's regime broke out, leading to rebel uprisings that have since escalated into a full-scale civil war.
As of last year, Syria's economy has officially dropped to 129th place on the global rankings, the value of the economy has fallen 85% to just $9 billion, according to estimates by the World Bank (WB). These bad news put the country on par with the economy of Chad and the Palestinian Territories.
Nearly 14 years of conflict, with a series of international sanctions and the exodus of 4.82 million people — more than a fifth of the country's population — have turned Syria into one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, and the labor force is running low.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of December, there were still 7 million Syrians, more than 30 percent of the population, still displaced in their own country. The conflict has devastated the country's infrastructure, causing long-term damage to the electricity, transportation and health systems. Several cities, including Aleppo, Raqqa and Homs, have seen widespread devastation. The 4,000-year-old ancient city of Aleppo, once a prosperous, lively place, famous for its ancient architecture and rich cultural history, has become a dead waste.
The civil war has caused the Syrian pound to depreciate significantly, leading to a sharp decline in purchasing power. Last year, the country saw hyperinflation — inflation is very high and accelerating, the Syrian Center for Policy Studies (SCPR) said in a report published in June. The consumer price index (CPI) has doubled compared to the previous year. SCPR said that more than half of Syrians are living in extreme poverty, unable to ensure basic food needs.
The two main pillars of Syria's economy — oil and agriculture — have been devastated by the war. Although very small compared to other Middle Eastern countries, Syria's oil exports accounted for about a quarter of the government's revenue in 2010. Food production contributes a similar amount to GDP.
President Assad's regime has lost control of most of its oil fields to rebel groups, including the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) and then Kurdish-led forces. Meanwhile, international sanctions have nearly stifled the government's ability to export oil. With oil production falling to just under 9,000 barrels per day in areas controlled by the government last year, the country is heavily dependent on oil imports from Iran.
