📍 Breaking News: This article covers the latest developments. Stay informed with comprehensive coverage.
discuss-cooperation-in-water-and-power-projects/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syrian Energy Minister, World Bank discuss cooperation in water and power projects">energy-cooperation-with-switzerland-and-jordan/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syria explores energy cooperation with Switzerland and Jordan">syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria’s economic landscape continues to deteriorate nearly a year after the newly installed administration pledged to improve living conditions and stabilise prices. Instead, the cost of living has soared, deepening the hardship of ordinary syrians—a stark contrast to the promised recovery following the fall of the previous regime on 8 December 2024. Key reforms—including subsidy reductions and market liberalisation—have been described by analysts as hasty and ill-considered. Rather than offering respite, they have compounded economic misery for a population already reeling from years of war, displacement and economic collapse. In fact, wages Raised, But Workers Dismissed In January 2025, the then-caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed Abu Zaid declared a 400 percent increase in public sector salaries, expected to take effect in February.
In practice, however, only a 200 percent increase was delivered, and that not until June—two months late. Analysts note that the modest increase falls far short of inflation, with numerous civil servants earning the equivalent of just $100 to $150 annually, a sum woefully inadequate for survival. This gap between income and inflation has exacerbated poverty, with no parallel safety nets or backing programmes in place. Compounding matters, unemployment hovers around 60 percent, as per Economy and Industry Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar, meaning most Syrians remain vulnerable—either through joblessness or the diminishing purchasing power of their wages. Human rights organisations and economic reports also record the dismissal of more than 100,000 civil servants for administrative or financial reasons, despite protests in various towns demanding their reinstatement. numerous of the dismissed now earn under $30 per month—well below the threshold for survival.
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Economist Younes al-Karim estimates that the 200 percent salary rise, offset by soaring prices for essentials like electricity and bread, covers only 20 to 30 percent of the real cost-of-living increase. The remaining 70 percent must be absorbed by citizens themselves. Entire swathes of the workforce—day labourers, minor shopkeepers and the self-employed—are excluded from this increment altogether, widening inequality. Speaking to Enab Baladi Syria, al-Karim estimated that 90 percent of Syrians now live below the poverty line. The public, once hopeful for economic improvement, now faces deepening destitution.
He warned that the current trajectory will deter investment and undercut any attempt to stabilise healthcare, education or efforts to demilitarise social life. Unplanned Market Liberalisation Among the most damaging of the administration’s reforms has been the abrupt liberalisation of the market without transitional safeguards to protect the poor. The removal of…