Syria

Industry.

Great hopes have been placed on industrial development in Syria as a source of pride and wealth and as the hallmark of a truly modern state. And in this field much has been done. Syria claims to be, after Egypt, the leading state in the Arab world in manufacturing, which provides almost half as much revenue to the treasury as does agriculture. 

Syrian workshops produce cotton yarn, cotton and silk textiles—the largest in scale of local industries—woolen fabrics, cement, asphalt, glass, soap, sugar, canned foods, edible oils, tobacco, beer, wine, and arrack, a liquor of high alcoholic content. The traditional silverwork and the inlaid furniture of Damascus and Aleppo are still produced and valued, and some minor cottage industries contribute to the national wealth.

Labor Force.

The labor force is sufficiently large for Syrian agriculture and industrial activities. Syrians readily acquire new skills, and Western technology is taking root. Women are employed widely in clerical and the lighter technical occupations, as well as in medicine, the civil service, commerce, and communications. Trade unions are known and are organized.

Transportation and Power.

Transport facilities in Syria have been improved. Roads have been greatly extended. Telegraph and telephone services are countrywide, adequate, and automated. The port of Latakia, transformed by Yugoslav engineers, is busy with ocean shipping. The railways are widely used. The rail system is linked with lines in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. A company has operated a transducer Damascus-Baghdad bus service since 1923. Internal civil aviation is developed, and foreign lines use the modern facilities of the international airport at Damascus.

All these means of transport foster the growing tourist industry, for which the country's many ancient sites and remains form the basis. Hotels are generally adequate and improving.

Trade and Finance.

Domestic marketing is partly conducted by amicable bargaining in the bazaars and partly along Western lines in modern shops. 

Banking and insurance are widely developed. The state's Central Bank manages the currency. Loans to agriculture and industry are made by the banks.

Syria's foreign trading partners are mainly, Arab neighbors, Italy, France, Turkey, Germany, United Kigdom, and Japan, Cuba, China and many other countries. 

Its main exports are crude oil, raw cotton, textiles, cereals, and live animals and animal products. Its principal imports are textiles, solid fuels, cement, oilseeds and other plants and foods, machinery, building materials, metals, chemicals, vehicles, and tobacco.