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Syria: cities by population

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated · UN World Population Prospects

Syria has a population of 26,472,497 (UN estimate, 2026), with Damascus as its capital. The 50 largest of its 125 recorded towns and cities, ranked.

+59%
since 2000 (16,637,888)
+43%
projected by 2050 (37,793,372)
144
people per km²
19501975200020252050 3.6M 37.8M
UN estimates to 2026; the dashed line is the medium-variant projection to 2050, a forecast rather than a measurement. Source: World Population Prospects 2024.
Full UN series, 1950 to 2050
YearPopulation
19503,612,081
19757,554,364
200016,637,888
200518,814,091
201022,482,421
201519,424,618
202021,049,429
202525,620,427
202626,472,497
2030 projected29,395,540
2050 projected37,793,372

Medium variant. Figures from 2026 onward are projections, not measurements.

Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.

Largest cities in Syria

#PlaceRegionPopulation
1AleppoAleppo2,098,210
2DamascusDamascus Governorate1,569,394
3HomsHoms775,404
4LatakiaLatakia709,000
5Ar RaqqahRaqqa531,952
6ḨamāhHama460,602
7ŢarţūsTartus458,327
8Al ḨasakahAl-Hasakah422,445
9Deir ez-ZorDeir ez-Zor271,800
10Al QāmishlīAl-Hasakah184,231
11Al BābAleppo130,745
12IdlibIdlib128,840
13DūmāRif-dimashq111,864
14al-YarmūkDamascus Governorate99,999
15JaramānāRif-dimashq99,999
16ManbijAleppo99,497
17Dar‘āDaraa97,969
18As SalamīyahHama94,887
19Al-TabqaRaqqa87,880
20DārayyāRif-dimashq71,596
21I‘zāzAleppo66,138
22JablahLatakia65,915
23As SafīrahAleppo63,708
24As-SuwaydaSuwayda59,052
25Ālbū KamālDeir ez-Zor57,572
26At TallRif-dimashq55,561
27Al MayādīnDeir ez-Zor54,534
28Ar RastanHoms53,152
29KabbasinAleppo51,230
30TadmurHoms51,015
31BabīlāRif-dimashq50,880
32‘Ayn al ‘ArabAleppo50,000
33An NabkRif-dimashq49,372
34Khān ShaykhūnIdlib48,975
35‘AfrīnAleppo48,693
36NawáDaraa47,066
37KafranbelIdlib45,652
38‘IrbīnRif-dimashq42,474
39Al QuşayrHoms41,062
40YabrūdRif-dimashq40,502
41Jisr ash ShughūrIdlib39,311
42BāniyāsTartus39,066
43TallbīsahHoms38,491
44ḨarastāRif-dimashq37,348
45Al QunayţirahQuneitra36,143
46TādifAleppo34,670
47SaraqibIdlib34,231
48JayrūdRif-dimashq32,352
49MaşyāfHama32,262
50Ma‘arratmişrīnIdlib32,163

Twenty years earlier: Syria in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 18,586,743.

Common questions

What is the population of Syria?
Syria has a population of 26,472,497, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 37,793,372 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Syria?
Damascus. The largest place we record there is Aleppo, with 2,098,210 people.

Go deeper

Aleppo
The largest place we record in Syria: 2,098,210 people
Syria in 2005
The World Gazetteer's archive edition: 18,586,743 then
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