314 km; natural gas 1,506 km

Ports: Basel

Merchant marine:
total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 374,935 GRT/669,353 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, oil tanker 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, specialized tanker 1

Airports:
total: 69
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
with paved runways under 914 m: 42
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

@Switzerland:Communications

Telephone system: 5,890,000 telephones; excellent domestic,
international, and broadcast services
local: NA
intercity: extensive cable and microwave networks
international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean) earth
stations

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 265, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 18 (repeaters 1,322)
televisions: NA

@Switzerland:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Air Force and Antiaircraft Command

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,847,639; males fit for
military service 1,582,335; males reach military age (20) annually
41,831 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.1 billion, 1.4% of
GDP (1995)

________________________________________________________________________

SYRIA

@Syria:Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Lebanon and Turkey

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total area: 185,180 sq km
land area: 184,050 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory

Land boundaries: total 2,253 km, Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375
km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km

Coastline: 193 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 41 nm
territorial sea: 35 nm

International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice
Line; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey;
ongoing dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon since October
1976

Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and
mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather
with snow or sleet periodically hits Damascus

Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain;
mountains in west

Natural resources: petroleum,