Syria, which gained independence from France in 1946, is a country of fertile plains, mountains and deserts. Home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Alawite Shias and Druze, Syria has majority of the Muslim population. Syria shares a northern border with Turkey, in the east and southeast with Iraq, in the south with Jordan and in the west with Lebanon and Israel.

Basic Economic Facts:
GDP: $23 billion
GDP per head: US$1,278
Annual Growth: 5%
Inflation: 7%

Major Trading Partners:
Exports: Germany 21%, Italy 18%, Turkey 10%, France 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Lebanon 5%.

Imports: Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 6%, Korea 6%.

The economy is a high priority for Syrian government. The country has begun to move away from a centrally-controlled economy with a cautious opening up of the banking sector and a serious effort to attract foreign investment (outside the oil sector, which has always been a special case and dependent on foreign investment).

Healthcare & Medical Market:
The public and private sectors, both, provide healthcare services in Syria. Though the private sector is growing rapidly, the government is still the main provider of the primary health care. According to a report, the number of public hospitals increases by 3% per year, while that of private hospitals by 5%

The Syrian market for medical equipment and supplies amounted to US$35 million in 2005.

There are no import restrictions on medical equipment. The major portion of medical equipment and supplies is imported from Europe and Far East (30% each) , 10% from USA, while other countries contribute to remaining 30%. Arab medical products which constitutes of mostly disposables can be imported without customs duties. The public health sector is the main end-user (70%). Imports are administered by Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Defence by means of the tendering system for larger equipment, and 90% of the smaller equipment and supplies via private medical trading agencies.

Imports include medical and dental apparatus, orthopaedic appliances, surgical instruments and disposables, laboratory devices and materials, X-ray equipment etc. Also, there are more than 500 firms in the country which represent more than 1,000 companies from around the world import medical equipment.

If we look at the market trends, it should be assumed that the future of medical equipment business in Syria is promising. The import of medical equipment has been increasing up to 50% per year because of the increasing demand of the existing and new hospitals and clinics in both public and private sector.

The scope for diagnostic equipment and tools like X-ray, ultra-sound, MRI, Gamma ray imaging equipment, CAT scanners, ECG and EEG equipment, laser equipment for microsurgery and dermatology, cobalt radiation treatment systems, surgical and other related instruments, angiography and other cardiology equipment, other specialized equipment for interventional therapy, disposables, and laboratory analysis equipment are good. Customs duty range from 20% to 50%, but most of goods are taxed at 20% and hospital furniture at 50%.