WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Syria has been engulfed in a civil war since 2011 as Syrian government forces fight against opposition factions and terrorist groups, including ISIL and Nusra Front militant groups.
"At an average growth rate of 3 percent, it would take 20 years for Syria, whose population is estimated to have shrunk by 20 percent, to recover to its 2010 GDP level," the IMF said in a report issued ahead of the G-20 leaders' summit in Turkey on Sunday.
According to various estimates, up to half of the Syrian population, which stood at about 23 million people in 2011, have become either refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs).