The Syria war in numbers

Human and economic cost of decade of deadly conflict laid bare

A father reacts after the death of two of his children, whom activists said were killed by shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, at al-Ansari area in Aleppo, Syria in January 2013 (Reuters)

A decade of war has torn through the lives of millions of innocent Syrians.

From the moment security forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the city of Deraa, the deadly conflict between Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel fighters has been ceaseless, and has drawn in world powers to the conflict.

On the 10th anniversary of the start of the conflict in mid-March 2011, we reflect on the scale of devastation.

387,100 - The number of people killed in the conflict, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

116,911 - Civilians included in the total death toll. Of that number 80,958 were men, 22,149 were children and 13,804 women.

88,000 - Not included in the total deaths are the nearly 88,000 civilians killed by torture in detention centres and prisons, the SOHR says.

1,400 - People killed in a single chemical weapon attack when missiles containing the sarin gas struck the suburb of Ghouta on 21 August 2013.

13 years - The overall reduction in Syrian children’s life expectancy after 10 years of war

2.1 million - Syrian civilians injured or left with permanent disabilities as a result of military operations, shelling, bombardment and explosions.

6.6 million - People internally displaced in Syria, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

5.6 million - People fled Syria, mostly to Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. The conflict has resulted in the largest displacement crisis since the Second World War.

12.4 million - The number of Syrians, nearly 60 per cent of the population, who lack access to sufficient food, according to the World Food Programme.

200 per cent - The increase in food prices in the last year alone, according to the UN World Food Programme.

A displaced Syrian woman with her daughter sit outside their tent at a refugee camp in Bar Elias, in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa valley, 5 March 2021 (AP)

15.5 million - Syrians lack basic access to clean and hygienic water.

2.4 million - Children are out of education, nearly 40 per cent are girls.

62 per cent - The amount of the country controlled by the Syrian regime and allied militias, while 15 per cent is held by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

$1.2 trillion - The economic cost of conflict to date, according to World Vision.

$1.7 trillion - The additional cost that would continue to accumulate through to 2035 even if the war ended today.