Ten years of war in Syria has cost $1.2 trillion USD

04 Mar 2021 by Gabriel Thomas, News Media Advisor
Ten years of war in Syria has cost $1.2 trillion USD

The economic cost of 10 years of conflict in Syria is estimated to be more than $US 1.2 trillion, according to research done by World Vision and Frontier Economics. Even if the war ended today, its cost would continue to accumulate to the tune of an extra $1.7 trillion in today’s money through to 2035. 

The report ‘Too high a price to pay: the cost of conflict for Syria’s children’ investigates the impact that 10 years of war has had on Syria’s economic growth (in GDP), and on its human capital, with a specific focus on children. The findings show an entire generation has been lost to this conflict and children will bear the cost through lost education and health, preventing many from supporting the country’s recovery and economic growth, once the war ends.

Andrew Morley, World Vision International President & CEO, said: “The world has stood by and allowed this conflict to rage on for a decade, robbing children of their basic rights and preventing an entire generation of girls and boys from reaching their potential.” 

This report confirms the findings of the 2016 “Cost of Conflict” report by World Vision and Frontier Economics, which warned of an accumulated economic cost surpassing US$275 billion, projecting, in a worst case scenario, to reach US$1.3 trillion by 2020. The latest research shows those fears were founded. 

“Children come to us on a daily basis in Syria, hungry, cold and deeply distressed by what they have witnessed and experienced,” says Johan Mooij, World Vision Syria Response Director.

“Boys and girls aged five or six can name every type of bomb by its sound, but sometimes can barely write their name having missed out on an education. We must stop the war before it is too late,” adds Mooij.   
 

Contact:
Gabriel Thomas, News Media Advisor, World Vision New Zealand
Gabriel.Thomas@worldvision.org.nz  |  ​+64 21 360 098