Foreign Aid: In 1997 foreign aid totaled an estimated US$199 million. The World Bank reported that as of July 2004 it had committed a total of US$661 million for 20 operations in Syria. One investment project remained active at that time.
Currency and Exchange Rate: Syria’s currency is the Syrian pound (SP or SYP), equal to 100 piastres. The Syrian pound is pegged to the U.S. dollar and trades at both official and free-market rates. According to the Central Bank of Syria, the official exchange rate has been SP11.20–11.25 per US$1 since 1998; in early 2005, the bank gave the prevailing “neighboring markets rate” as SP46.0–SP46.5 per US$1. Other sources cited a free-market rate of SP51.91 to US$1 in early April 2005.
Fiscal Year: Calendar year.