Digital 2023: Syria
This page contains all the latest data, insights, and trends you need to help you understand how people in Syria use digital devices and services in 2023.
If you want to check whether this is our most up-to-date report on Syria, or if you’re looking for data on digital trends and behaviours in Syria for previous years, you can find our full collection of reports on Syria by clicking here.
You’ll also find the complete Digital 2023 report on Syria in the “full report” section below, but let’s start by taking a look at the key numbers for Syria this year.
The state of digital in Syria in 2023
Here are the essential headlines for digital adoption and use in Syria in early 2023:
There were 8.11 million internet users in Syria at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 35.8 percent.
A total of 15.57 million cellular mobile connections were active in Syria in early 2023, with this figure equivalent to 68.7 percent of the total population.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Syria, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours are evolving, we need to dig deeper into the data.
Let’s take a closer look at what the latest numbers tell us, starting with some valuable context relating to Syria’s population.
Syria’s population in 2023
Syria’s total population was 22.66 million in January 2023.
Data shows that Syria’s population increased by 1.1 million (+5.0 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
49.9 percent of Syria’s population is female, while 50.1 percent of the population is male.
At the start of 2023, 57.1 percent of Syria’s population lived in urban centres, while 42.9 percent lived in rural areas.
Note: gender data are currently only available for “female” and “male”.
Syria’s population by age
The median age of Syria’s population is 22.1.
Here’s how Syria’s total population breaks down by age group:
9.1 percent is between the ages of 0 and 4.
16.2 percent is between the ages of 5 and 12.
12.9 percent is between the ages of 13 and 17.
16.2 percent is between the ages of 18 and 24.
13.9 percent is between the ages of 25 and 34.
11.6 percent is between the ages of 35 and 44.
9.5 percent is between the ages of 45 and 54.
6.0 percent is between the ages of 55 and 64.
4.7 percent is aged 65 and above.
Note: percentages may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
Internet use in Syria in 2023
There were 8.11 million internet users in Syria in January 2023.
Syria’s internet penetration rate stood at 35.8 percent of the total population at the start of 2023.
Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Syria increased by 384 thousand (+5.0 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
For perspective, these user figures reveal that 14.55 million people in Syria did not use the internet at the start of 2023, suggesting that 64.2 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year.
However, complexities associated with the collection and analysis of internet user data mean that it can often take several months before research is ready for publication. As a result, the latest published figures for internet use invariably under-represent reality, and actual adoption and growth may be higher than the figures shown here suggest. Please see our comprehensive notes on data for further details.
Dig deeper: for the latest insights into internet adoption and use around the world, follow our regular Global Statshot reports.
Internet connection speeds in Syria in 2023
Data published by Ookla indicate that internet users in Syria could have expected the following internet connection speeds at the start of 2023:
Median mobile internet connection speed via cellular networks: 9.27 Mbps.
Median fixed internet connection speed: 3.16 Mbps.
Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in Syria decreased by 2.16 Mbps (-18.9 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2023.
Meanwhile, Ookla’s data shows that fixed internet connection speeds in Syria increased by 0.26 Mbps (+9.0 percent) during the same period.
Mobile connections in Syria in 2023
Data from GSMA Intelligence shows that there were 15.57 million cellular mobile connections in Syria at the start of 2023.
However, note that many people around the world make use of more than one mobile connection – for example, they might have one connection for personal use, and another one for work – so it’s not unusual for mobile connection figures to significantly exceed figures for total population.
GSMA Intelligence’s numbers indicate that mobile connections in Syria were equivalent to 68.7 percent of the total population in January 2023.
The number of mobile connections in Syria increased by 999 thousand (+6.9 percent) between 2022 and 2023.
Additional resources
Just before we get to the full report, here are some suggestions for further reading, which will provide additional context for our full set of Digital 2023 numbers for Syria:
Read our complete Digital 2023 Global Overview Report to get a comprehensive overview of the “state of digital” around the world in 2023.
Click here to see all of the Global Digital Reports we’ve published on Syria over the past decade.
Explore all of our reports on countries in Western Asia by clicking here.
Visit our complete online reports library to find all of the (free!) reports in the Global Digital Reports series.
If you’d like to receive updates when we publish new reports, click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Full report
You’ll find our complete Digital 2023: Syria report in the embed below (click here if you can’t see that, or if you can’t change the slides).