Syria’s National Revival Strategy: Foundations for an Economic Miracle

Between 1946 and 1958, Syria, like Lebanon, stood as a remarkable economic success story in the Middle East. During the early years of independence, it was on a bold trajectory of economic growth that echoed the postwar recovery of European nations under the Marshall Plan. Syria’s financial and banking sectors, in tandem with Lebanon’s, were among the most advanced in the region, outpacing those of Turkey, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt and even rivaling the economies of East Asia, such as South Korea, still reeling from the Korean War, and postwar Japan.

However, this promising course was suddenly interrupted. The union with Egypt in 1958 marked a turning point, ushering in the era of socialist policies (agrarian reform, nationalization, and centralized planning) that steadily undermined the momentum of economic progress. The subsequent Baathist coup in 1963, followed by Hafez al-Assad’s seizure of power in 1970, entrenched a rigid socialist framework that dismantled the core institutions of Syria’s once-thriving economy. The miracle of the early nationalist era gradually decayed.

Today, with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 and the new chapter in Syria’s political and economic life, the conditions may be favorable for a second Syrian economic miracle.