Syria 2007
According to ezinereligion, in 2007, Syria had a population of around 19 million people and a GDP of $60 billion. The economy was mainly based on agriculture, oil exports, textiles and tourism. Syria had strong ties with its Arab neighbors as well as Russia and Iran. Politically, the country was under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad who came to power in 2000 through a referendum. Since then, he has been re-elected several times in controversial elections which have been criticized by international observers as being rigged. In terms of foreign relations, Syria largely maintained good relations with its neighboring countries while also maintaining strong ties with Russia and Iran. It also maintained diplomatic ties with the United States but these ties deteriorated significantly after the 2003 US invasion of…