Syria vs Turkey
Turkey is 4.23 times larger than Syria. Syria would fit into Turkey about 4.2 times.
SyriaTurkeySyria moved onto Turkey · Equal-area projection
0.24×
Syria is 0.24× the area of Turkey. Put the other way, Turkey is 4.23× the size of Syria.
 Syria |  Turkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaTurkey: 4.23× the area | 185,180 km²#87 of 194 | 783,562 km²#36 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 8 |
| People | ||
| PopulationTurkey: 3.35× the population | 25,620,427#57 of 194 · 2025 | 85,878,556#18 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySyria: 1.26× the density | 138 / km²#66 of 194 | 110 / km²#80 of 194 |
| Urban populationTurkey: 1.24× the urban share | 72%#65 of 192 · 2025 | 90%#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSyria: 1.82× the births per woman | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSyria: 3.35 points higher | +3.77%#5 of 192 · 2025 | +0.42%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSyria: 2.11× the birth rate | 23.2 per 1,000#57 of 192 · 2024 | 11.0 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateTurkey: 1.16× the death rate | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Syria: 7.4 points higher | 28.4%#76 of 192 · 2025 | 21.0%#109 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Turkey: 5.8 points higher | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 | 10.6%#75 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSyria: 19.5 per 1,000 higher | +16.5 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2025 | −3.0 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSyria: 109× the refugees for its size | 189.92 per 1,000#2 of 190 · 2025 | 1.74 per 1,000#47 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyTurkey: 4.8 years longer | 72.6 years#108 of 192 · 2024 | 77.4 years#65 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySyria: 2.21× the infant mortality | 17.7 per 1,000 births#72 of 191 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000 births#122 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsTurkey: 1.47× the doctors per person | 1.52 per 1,000#94 of 178 · 2021 | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 105.9%#8 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexTurkey: 0.289 higher | 0.564#159 of 190 · 2023 | 0.853#50 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaTurkey: 22.6× the income per person | $720#177 of 185 · 2022 | $16,300#62 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTurkey: 67.3× the economy | $23.74B2022 | $1.6T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Turkey: 9.23× the output per person | $4,905#152 of 184 · 2022 | $45,288#48 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthTurkey: 3.8 points higher | −0.2%#175 of 187 · 2022 | +3.6%#83 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +34.9%#6 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSyria: 1.6× the unemployment | 13.6%#18 of 178 · 2025 | 8.5%#45 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySyria: 90× the share in extreme poverty | 18.0%#37 of 149 · 2022 | 0.2%#121 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Turkey: 17.3 higher | 26.4#140 of 149 · 2022 | 43.7#21 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureSyria: 2.1 points higher | 16.3% of jobs#87 of 178 · 2025 | 14.2% of jobs#94 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryTurkey: 2.1 points higher | 25.2% of jobs#42 of 178 · 2025 | 27.3% of jobs#26 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesThe same | 58.5% of jobs#88 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsTurkey: 18.0 points higher | 6.8% of GDP#165 of 168 · 2022 | 24.8% of GDP#115 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.9% of GDP#69 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 90%#55 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsTurkey: 1.52× the mobile subscriptions | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaTurkey: 10.2× the forest share | 3% of land#171 of 192 · 2024 | 30% of land#103 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personTurkey: 4.24× the CO₂ per person | 1.27 t a year#121 of 185 · 2024 | 5.38 t a year#45 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyTurkey: 10.9 points higher | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2021 | 12.0%#134 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityTurkey: 10.7 points higher | 89.3%#139 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Syria: 1.22× the air pollution | 32.1 µg/m³#42 of 191 · 2023 | 26.4 µg/m³#58 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landTurkey: 6.3 points higher | 0.7% of land#185 of 191 · 2025 | 7.0% of land#160 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landTurkey: 2.3 points higher | 24.0% of land#41 of 190 · 2024 | 26.3% of land#37 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSyria: 2.6× the water stress | 124.4%#12 of 176 · 2022 | 47.9%#39 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationTurkey: 2.35× the rain and snow | 252 mm#157 of 180 · 2022 | 593 mm#132 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityTurkey: 1.44 higher | −2.32#191 of 193 · 2025 | −0.88#162 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionTurkey: 1.09 higher | −1.62#190 of 193 · 2025 | −0.53#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 3.2 per 100,000#62 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Military or transitionaltransitional presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Damascus | Ankara |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | Turkish lira (TRY) |
| Official languages | Arabic | Turkish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +963 | +90 |
| 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. Syria sits at about 35° N and is stretched to 1.49× its true area; Turkey at 39° N is stretched to 1.66×. 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 Syria bigger than Turkey?
- No. Syria is 4.23 times smaller than Turkey. Syria covers 185,180 km² and Turkey covers 783,562 km².
- How many times does Syria fit into Turkey?
- About 4.2 times: Turkey has 4.23× the area of Syria.
- Why do Syria and Turkey look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Syria is drawn about 1.49× its true area there and Turkey about 1.66×. 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, Syria or Turkey?
- Turkey: 85,878,556 people against 25,620,427. Density: Syria 138 per km², Turkey 110 per km².
- Which is richer, Syria or Turkey?
- By gross national income per person, Turkey: $16,300 against $720 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2022) — 22.6× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Syria or Turkey?
- In Turkey: life expectancy at birth is 77.4 years, against 72.6 — 4.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Syria and Turkey have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Syria: military or transitional; Turkey: presidential republic.