Syria vs. Iraq
Telecommunications
| Syria | Iraq | |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 2,843,103 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15.3 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 2,859,094 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7.52 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 21.115 million subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 113.58 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 37,224,759 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 97.96 (2019 est.) |
| Internet country code | .sy | .iq |
| Internet users | total: 6,077,510 percent of population: 34.25% (July 2018 est.) | total: 18,364,390 percent of population: 49.36% (July 2018 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: Syria's telecom sector has paid a heavy toll from years of civil war and destruction leading to major disruptions to the network; operators focusing on rebuilding damaged networks, though lack of basic infrastructure, including power and security, hamper efforts; fairly high mobile penetration for region; remote areas rely on expensive satellite communications; mobile broadband infrastructure is predominantly 3G for about 85% of the population with some LTE ; international aid network provides emergency Internet and telecom services when necessary; government restrictions of Internet freedom; major importer of broadcasting equipment from UAE (2021) (2020)domestic: the number of fixed-line connections increased markedly prior to the civil war in 2011 and now stands at 17 per 100; mobile-cellular service stands at about 114 per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 963; landing points for the Aletar, BERYTAR and UGART submarine cable connections to Egypt, Lebanon, and Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel (2019) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments | general assessment: the 2003 liberation of Iraq severely disrupted telecommunications throughout the country; widespread government efforts to rebuild domestic and international communications have slowed due to political unrest; recent efforts create stability and developments in 4G and 5G technologies; operators focus on installations of new fiber-optic cables and growth in mobile broadband subscribers; the most popular plans are pre-paid; operators focused on fixing and replacing networks (2020) (2020)domestic: the mobile cellular market continues to expand; 3G services offered by three major mobile operators; 4G offered by one operator in Iraqi; conflict has destroyed infrastructure in areas; 7 per 100 for fixed-line and 95 per 100 for mobile-cellular subscriptions (2019) international: country code - 964; landing points for FALCON, and GBICS/MENA submarine cables providing connections to the Middle East, Africa and India; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative)); local microwave radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey (2019) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments |
| Broadband - fixed subscriptions | total: 1,490,344 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8.02 (2019 est.) | total: 4,559,053 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2019 est.) |
| Broadcast media | state-run TV and radio broadcast networks; state operates 2 TV networks and 5 satellite channels; roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts; 3 state-run radio channels; first private radio station launched in 2005; private radio broadcasters prohibited from transmitting news or political content (2018) | the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003; government-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly funded Iraqi Media Network; private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups; satellite TV is available to an estimated 70% of viewers and many of the broadcasters are based abroad; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2019) |
Source: CIA Factbook
