Rebuilding Syria’s economy: Can stability return after war?

Syria’s new leadership faces an economy devastated by war and sanctions, with inflation and a decimated currency.

When opposition forces ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive on December 8, they inherited a crisis-hit economy.

One month later, they are working to restart it, facing the damage 14 years of war left and crippling sanctions that have decimated economic activity.

The Syrian pound’s value has been drained and inflation reached the triple digits. Last month, an unnamed official told the Reuters news agency that the Central Bank of Syria had just $200m in foreign exchange reserves. At the end of 2010, it had $17bn.

Having assumed control of Syria’s caretaker government, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – itself still sanctioned as a “terrorist organisation” by the United States and others – faces a long list of challenges.

An immediate priority is funding, including the basics – the World Food Programme estimates that 13.1 million Syrians do not have enough to eat – and peace and security.