Latakia - Demographics

Demographics

At the beginning of the 20th century, Latakia had a population of roughly 7,000 inhabitants; however, the Journal of the Society of Arts recorded a population of 25,000 in 1905. In a 1992 estimate, Latakia had a population of 284,000, rising to 303,000 in the 1994 census. The city's population continued to rise, reaching an estimated 402,000 residents in 2002. However those numbers are subject to definitional issues about where the city begins and ends. Under one definition, in year 2010 the Latakia metropolitan area had a population of 370,000.

In religious affiliation, Latakia city has a slight Sunni Muslim majority and a very large Alawite minority. The rural hinterland has an Alawite majority of roughly 70%, with Christians making up 14%, Sunni Muslims making up 12%, and Ismailis representing the remaining 2%. The city still serves as the capital of the Alawite population and is a major cultural center for the religion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, large numbers of Alawites emigrated to the city of Damascus in the south. A sizable Greek Orthodox population exists in Latakia, which serves as a diocese and the largest congregation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. In 1825, there was a recorded population of 6,000-8,000 Muslims, 1,000 Greek Orthodox Christians, 30 Armenian Christians, 30 Maronite Catholics, and 30 Jews.

An Armenian community of 3,500 still lives in the city, and there also exists a small Greek community. Within the city boundaries is the "unofficial" Latakia camp, established in 1956, and that has a population of 6,354 Palestinian refugees, mostly from Jaffa and the Galilee. The entire population speaks Arabic, mostly in the North Levantine dialect.