Syrian economy

As Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Hasakah return to state authority, this resource-rich region re-emerges as a cornerstone of economic recovery

Ambition is key to recovery, but so is realism about the road ahead. Lingering sanctions, legal ambiguity, poor transparency, and weak institutions continue to deter serious investment.

The land between the Euphrates and Tigris yields oil, water, and wheat, to name but three, yet it has had no infrastructure investment for decades. As a result, it is unproductive. That could change.

Without a coordinated international effort to lift sanctions, Syria will struggle to secure foreign investment

Estimates of reconstruction costs range up to $500bn, and most Syrians only get a few hours of electricity per day. The country's priorities are numerous and urgent, but amid the gloom, there is hope.

Maysa Sabrin joins illustrious figures such as Russia's Elvira Nabiullina, Europe's Christine Lagarde, and America's Janet Yellen, proving women heading central banks is no longer a rarity

While financial obligations outlive regimes, Damascus may be able to show that some of the $7.6bn in loans from Tehran was spent repressing the Syrian people—and that Iran knew about it

War caused its GDP to fall by 86%, leaving 69% of Syrians impoverished. Regime change brings hope for an economy once one of the Middle East's strongest. This is its story and a look ahead.

Syria's deep economic reliance on Lebanon, shaped by years of conflict and international sanctions, has made regime-held areas particularly vulnerable to Lebanon's economic and political instability

The al-Assad government's embrace of the neoliberal market involves privatisation and subsidy cuts, which are causing widespread suffering and only benefitting the elite