Israel vs Syria
Syria is 8.92 times larger than Israel. Israel would fit into Syria about 8.9 times.
IsraelSyriaIsrael moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
0.11×
Israel is 0.11× the area of Syria. Put the other way, Syria is 8.92× the size of Israel.
 Israel |  Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSyria: 8.92× the area | 20,770 km²#150 of 194 | 185,180 km²#87 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSyria: 2.53× the population | 10,122,800#96 of 194 · 2025 | 25,620,427#57 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityIsrael: 3.52× the density | 487 / km²#17 of 194 | 138 / km²#66 of 194 |
| Urban populationIsrael: 1.27× the urban share | 92%#17 of 192 · 2025 | 72%#65 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateIsrael: 1.06× the births per woman | 2.87 per woman#56 of 192 · 2024 | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSyria: 2.57 points higher | +1.20%#84 of 192 · 2025 | +3.77%#5 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSyria: 1.25× the birth rate | 18.6 per 1,000#80 of 192 · 2024 | 23.2 per 1,000#57 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateIsrael: 1.08× the death rate | 5.3 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2024 | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Syria: 1.2 points higher | 27.2%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 28.4%#76 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Israel: 7.9 points higher | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSyria: 15.4 per 1,000 higher | +1.1 per 1,000#51 of 192 · 2025 | +16.5 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSyria: 1,583× the refugees for its size | 0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025 | 189.92 per 1,000#2 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyIsrael: 10.6 years longer | 83.2 years#13 of 192 · 2024 | 72.6 years#108 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySyria: 6.56× the infant mortality | 2.7 per 1,000 births#170 of 191 · 2024 | 17.7 per 1,000 births#72 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsIsrael: 2.5× the doctors per person | 3.80 per 1,000#36 of 178 · 2023 | 1.52 per 1,000#94 of 178 · 2021 |
| University enrolment | 56.3%#63 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexIsrael: 0.355 higher | 0.919#26 of 190 · 2023 | 0.564#159 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaIsrael: 78× the income per person | $56,180#17 of 185 · 2025 | $720#177 of 185 · 2022 |
| GDPIsrael: 25.7× the economy | $610.78B2025 | $23.74B2022 |
| Income group | High income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Israel: 12.2× the output per person | $59,717#33 of 184 · 2025 | $4,905#152 of 184 · 2022 |
| GDP growthIsrael: 3.1 points higher | +2.9%#104 of 187 · 2025 | −0.2%#175 of 187 · 2022 |
| Inflation | +3.0%#90 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentSyria: 3.89× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 13.6%#18 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySyria: 45× the share in extreme poverty | 0.4%#107 of 149 · 2022 | 18.0%#37 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Israel: 11.9 higher | 38.3#50 of 149 · 2022 | 26.4#140 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureSyria: 15.5 points higher | 0.8% of jobs#175 of 178 · 2025 | 16.3% of jobs#87 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySyria: 10.1 points higher | 15.1% of jobs#136 of 178 · 2025 | 25.2% of jobs#42 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesIsrael: 25.6 points higher | 84.1% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 4.3% of GDP#43 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| ExportsIsrael: 20.8 points higher | 27.6% of GDP#107 of 168 · 2025 | 6.8% of GDP#165 of 168 · 2022 |
| Military spending | 7.8% of GDP#3 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 88%#67 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsIsrael: 2.49× the mobile subscriptions | 177 per 100#9 of 191 · 2024 | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaIsrael: 2.34× the forest share | 7% of land#160 of 192 · 2024 | 3% of land#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personIsrael: 4.54× the CO₂ per person | 5.77 t a year#41 of 185 · 2024 | 1.27 t a year#121 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyIsrael: 5.1 points higher | 6.2%#155 of 190 · 2021 | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityIsrael: 10.7 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 89.3%#139 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Syria: 1.47× the air pollution | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 | 32.1 µg/m³#42 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIsrael: 26.9 points higher | 27.6% of land#45 of 191 · 2025 | 0.7% of land#185 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSyria: 12.1 points higher | 11.9% of land#85 of 190 · 2024 | 24.0% of land#41 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressIsrael: 1.06× the water stress | 132.0%#11 of 176 · 2021 | 124.4%#12 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationIsrael: 1.73× the rain and snow | 435 mm#148 of 180 · 2021 | 252 mm#157 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityIsrael: 1.41 higher | −0.91#164 of 193 · 2025 | −2.32#191 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionIsrael: 2.58 higher | +0.96#35 of 193 · 2025 | −1.62#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.6 per 100,000#85 of 146 · 2022 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary democracy | Military or transitionaltransitional presidential republic |
| Member of | OECD | — |
| Capital | Jerusalem | Damascus |
| Currency | Israeli new shekel (ILS) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Official languages | Hebrew | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +972 | +963 |
| Region | Western Asia, Asia | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Israel sits at about 31° N and is stretched to 1.37× its true area; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Israel bigger than Syria?
- No. Israel is 8.92 times smaller than Syria. Israel covers 20,770 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
- How many times does Israel fit into Syria?
- About 8.9 times: Syria has 8.92× the area of Israel.
- Why do Israel and Syria look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Israel is drawn about 1.37× its true area there and Syria about 1.49×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Israel or Syria?
- Syria: 25,620,427 people against 10,122,800. Density: Israel 487 per km², Syria 138 per km².
- Which is richer, Israel or Syria?
- By gross national income per person, Israel: $56,180 against $720 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 78× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Israel or Syria?
- In Israel: life expectancy at birth is 83.2 years, against 72.6 — 10.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Israel and Syria have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Israel: parliamentary republic; Syria: military or transitional.