Arabs represent the major ethnicity in
Syria, in addition to the presence of several, much smaller ethnic groups.
Ethnicity, religion and national/ideological identities
Ethnicity and religion are intertwined in Syria as in other countries in the region, but there are also nondenominational,
supraethnic and suprareligious political identities, like
Syrian nationalism.
Counting the ethnic or religious groups
Since the 1960 census there has been no counting of
Syrians by religion, and there has never been any official counting by ethnicity or language. In the 1943 and 1953 censuses the various denominations were counted separately, e.g. for every Christian denomination. In 1960
Syrian Christians were counted as a whole but
Muslims were still counted separately between
Sunnis and
Alawis.[1][2][3]
Ethnic and religious groups
The majority of Syrians speak
Arabic except for a minority of
Neo-Aramaic speakers and
Kurdish speaking
Syrian Kurds, who altogether form 5-10% of the population.
SyrianArabSunni Muslims form ~70-75% of the populace, Christians altogether around 10%,
Alawites at less than 10%, and the remaining ~5-10% consist of minor ethnoreligious groups including the
Druze,
Isma'ilis, and
Twelver Shiite Muslims. However, these percentages are only indicative.
^"Syrian Alawites, referred to by AKP officials as Nusayris — a derogatory term not accepted by most Alevis in Turkey or Alawites in Syria — indeed can briefly be explained as follows. Some are Turkmen. They speak Turkish (...)" cf. Pinar Tremblay, "
Syrian Alawites hope for change in Turkey", Al-Monitor, November 15, 2013
^“…Maaloula Syriacs have maintained their Syriac identity since ancient times, and there is ample evidence of their Syriac heritage, especially in Maaloula, Ain Tineh, Bakhah, and Jubaadin…“, translated quote from the book إلياس أنطون نصر الله في معلولا, p. 45
^”…The city of Jubaadin in Syria, which is close to Maaloula, is inhabited by Aramaic-speaking people who are Syriac Arameans…“, translated quote from the Arabic book (Atlas of Religions) معلولا السريان