Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Israel fits inside Syria 8.4 times
Israel: 22,070 km² (2024) · Syria: 185,180 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Israel’s coastline is 41% longer than Syria’s
Israel: 273 km (2026 edition) · Syria: 193 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Syria’s highest peak towers 578 m above Israel’s
Israel: 2,236 m (2026 edition) · Syria: 2,814 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 74% of Syria, versus 24% of Israel
Israel: 23.8% (2024) · Syria: 74.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Syria has 2.5 times as many people as Israel
Israel: 10.1 million (2025) · Syria: 25.6 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Israel is 3.4 times as densely populated as Syria
Israel: 468 per km² (2025) · Syria: 140 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Israel are 4.3 cm taller than in Syria
Israel: 176 cm (2019) · Syria: 171.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Israel are 2.8 cm taller than in Syria
Israel: 162.2 cm (2019) · Syria: 159.4 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Israel is 6.9 years older than in Syria
Israel: 29.2 years (2023) · Syria: 22.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Israel have 0.2 more children on average than in Syria
Israel: 2.87 children per woman (2024) · Syria: 2.7 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
13% of people in Israel are 65 or older, versus 4.8% in Syria
Israel: 12.7% (2025) · Syria: 4.8% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Syria hosts 3.1 times as many refugees per resident as Israel
Israel: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025) · Syria: 0.4 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Israel has produced 5.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Syria none
Israel: 5.9 (2026) · Syria: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Israel has 2 official languages, Syria 1
Israel: 2 (2026) · Syria: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Israel’s economy is 26 times the size of Syria’s
Israel: $611 billion (2025) · Syria: $23.7 billion (2022)
How much is produced per person?
Israel produces 12 times as much per person as Syria
Israel: Int$59,717 (2025) · Syria: Int$4,905 (2022)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Israel than in Syria (Gini 11.9 points higher)
Israel: 38.3 (2022) · Syria: 26.4 (2022)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
18% of people in Syria live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.4% in Israel
Israel: 0.4% (2022) · Syria: 18% (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 14% in Syria, versus 3.5% in Israel
Israel: 3.5% (2025) · Syria: 13.6% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Israel: 7.8% (2025) · Syria: no data
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Israel: 23.2% (2024) · Syria: no data
How expensive is it?
Israel’s price level (US = 100) is 4.7× Syria’s
Israel: 101% (2025) · Syria: 22% (2022)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Israel spends 118 times as much on health per person as Syria
Israel: $3,928 (2023) · Syria: $33 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Israel live 11 years longer than in Syria
Israel: 83.2 years (2024) · Syria: 72.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Syria is 6.6 times as likely to die before turning one as in Israel
Israel: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Syria: 17.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Israel has 2.5 times as many doctors per person as Syria
Israel: 3.8 per 1,000 (2023) · Syria: 1.5 per 1,000 (2021)
How many hospital beds are there?
Israel has 2.2 times as many hospital beds per person as Syria
Israel: 3.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Syria: 1.4 per 1,000 (2021)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Israel is 4.9 times that in Syria
Israel: 6.9 per 100k (2023) · Syria: 1.4 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
30% of adults in Syria are obese, versus 23% in Israel
Israel: 23.3% (2024) · Syria: 29.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
Israel: 21.2% (2024) · Syria: no data
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Israel rate their lives 3.73 points higher than in Syria
Israel: 7.19 (2025) · Syria: 3.46 (2018)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Israel drink 38 times as much alcohol as in Syria
Israel: 4.2 litres (2023) · Syria: 0.1 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Israel has 6.7 times as much meat per person as Syria
Israel: 108.7 kg (2023) · Syria: 16.2 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Israel has 1,495 kcal more food per person per day than Syria
Israel: 3,754 kcal (2023) · Syria: 2,259 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Israel put in 270 more hours a year than in Syria
Israel: 1,890 hours (2023) · Syria: 1,621 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Israel went to school 7.6 years longer than in Syria
Israel: 13.5 years (2023) · Syria: 5.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Israel: 0.1 (2024) · Syria: no data
How many World Heritage sites?
Israel has 3 more World Heritage sites than Syria (9 against 6)
Israel: 9 (2026) · Syria: 6 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Israel has won 20 Olympic medals, Syria 4
Israel: 20 (2026 edition) · Syria: 4 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Israel are online, versus 34% in Syria
Israel: 88% (2024) · Syria: 34% (2018)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Israel is 12 times as fast as in Syria
Israel: 392 Mbps (2026) · Syria: 33 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Israel have electricity, versus 89% in Syria
Israel: 100% (2024) · Syria: 89.3% (2024)
How many live in cities?
92% of people in Israel live in cities, versus 72% in Syria
Israel: 92% (2025) · Syria: 72% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Israel has 177 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Syria 71
Israel: 177 (2024) · Syria: 71 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Syria’s railway network is 24% longer than Israel’s
Israel: 1,720 km (2021) · Syria: 2,139 km (2010)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Israel fly 31 times as many passengers per resident as those from Syria
Israel: 0.73 (2023) · Syria: 0.02 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 6.8% of Israel, but only 2.9% of Syria
Israel: 6.8% (2024) · Syria: 2.9% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Israel emits 4.4 times as much CO₂ as someone in Syria
Israel: 5.6 t (2024) · Syria: 1.3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
17% of Israel’s electricity is renewable, versus 3.5% in Syria
Israel: 16.9% (2025) · Syria: 3.5% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Syria carries 51% more fine dust than in Israel
Israel: 20.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Syria: 30.8 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Israel: 1.6 per 100k (2022) · Syria: no data
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Syria are 7.2 times as deadly as in Israel
Israel: 6.8 per 100k (2023) · Syria: 48.9 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Israel is on average 1.0 °C warmer than Syria
Israel: 21.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · Syria: 20.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Syria gets 5% more rain than Israel
Israel: 205 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Syria: 216 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Israel bigger than Syria?
Syria is larger. Israel fits inside Syria 8.4 times.
Which has more people, Israel or Syria?
Syria has 2.5 times as many people as Israel (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Israel or Syria?
People in Israel live 11 years longer than in Syria. Life expectancy at birth is 83.2 years in Israel and 72.6 in Syria.
Are people taller in Israel or Syria?
Men in Israel are 4.3 cm taller than in Syria (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
