Syria one year after Assad: Reconstruction and sanctions
Humanitarian need and population displacement in Syria remains high. Reconstruction is limited. Most sanctions have been removed.
December 2025 marks one year since Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria from 2000, fled and a rebel offensive captured the capital, Damascus. This brought Syria’s 13-year civil war to an end, though the political transition remains disputed, and some violence continues.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of one of the major rebel forces, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, was declared Syria’s transitional president in January 2025 and an interim constitutional declaration came into effect in March.
This briefing describes the humanitarian situation in Syria, the estimated costs of reconstruction and return of refugees, and international action. This includes the removal of sanctions and the provision of aid.
1.1 What is the humanitarian situation?In November 2025, the UN’s Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Najat Rochdi, told the UN Security Council that the situation in Syria remains “extremely serious”, with a high level of need and population displacement.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 16.5 million Syrians need humanitarian support, or nearly 70% of the population.
The World Food Programme has also described Syria as one of the world’s 18 “hunger hotspots” for 2026, citing lasting damage to agriculture, a fragile economy and security situation, and existing high levels of food insecurity.
1.2 How many Syrian refugees have returned? Refugees and displacement during the civil warAnti-government protests began in Syria in 2011, soon developing into armed conflict. By 2016, 5.6 million Syrians had been displaced abroad. This included around 1.4 million refugees in Europe, of which 800,000 were in Germany.
The largest number of Syrian refugees continue to be displaced in the Middle East, with Turkey hosting the most (2.4 million) followed by Lebanon (636,000).
Many Syrians were also displaced within the country, totalling 7.4 million by 2024. Sectarian violence led to further population displacement in 2025.
1.2 million refugees return in 2025Many host states have long sought to arrange the return of Syrian refugees, including in the early 2020s under Assad when the civil war seemed to stabilise. This was the case in Turkey and Lebanon as well as Denmark.
Since the fall of Assad, an estimated 1.2 million Syrians have voluntarily returned from neighbouring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). It also estimates that around 2 million of those internally displaced have returned to their homes. This has put more pressure on local services, jobs and reconstruction.
Among European governments, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, and the UK are among those to be assisting voluntary returns to Syria in 2025.
The UNHCR has welcomed voluntary returns as part of Syrian reconstruction, but says there must be no forced returns of refugees. The agency, together with the World Health Organization, has warned that a decline of external aid and increased demand on local services may slow the pace of further returns.
UK Government statements on refugee returnsThe UK Government says decisions on returns are made on a case by case basis and that anyone found at “risk of persecution or serious harm” will not be expected to return. In November 2025, it also said it is “considering” whether to introduce enforced returns as the situation in Syria has changed with Assad’s fall and “refugee status should be temporary”.
On the fall of Assad in December 2024, the government had paused decisions on new asylum applications from Syria (although they could still be submitted). These were resumed in July. The BBC reports around 7,000 Syrians were affected.
1.3 How much will reconstruction cost? World Bank estimates over US$216 billionIn an October 2025 report, the World Bank estimated that the costs of reconstruction in Syria were over US$216 billion.
The estimate does not include all of Syria’s economic sectors and the Bank says the figure is a likely underestimate.
Infrastructure and housing represent most of these reported costs.
Over the 13 years of civil war, the Syrian economy declined by over 50%, and the currency lost 99% of its value.
The Bank says urban water, sanitation and hygiene, transport and energy are among the most pressing priorities, as many of those displaced have now concentrated in cities.
Extensive land mines (Syria had the second-highest number of casualties in 2025) also hinder humanitarian access and recovery of agricultural land.
Prospects and challenges, including corruptionVisting the country in November, the International Monetary Fund said that there are signs of “recovery and improving prospects”. The Fund cited the gradual removal of sanctions, return of refugees, and re-integration of Syria into the regional and global economy.
However, analysts have also warned of the risks of corruption and lack of a national or international plan to direct investment and reconstruction.
Corruption was cited as one of the reasons for the collapse of Assad forces in 2024. Reports suggest that the restructuring of the Syrian economy and redistribution of Assad-held assets are reliant on many of the same business figures as under the Assad regime.
On taking power, Sharaa has also used relatives to staff key positions, citing the need for trusted appointees. However, he has reportedly since intervened against one brother on the grounds of abusing his access to the interim government.
Other factors which will influence the pace of reconstruction are continuing insecurity and external sanctions, particularly those from the US (see below).
1.4 How much aid has been provided?The UN humanitarian appeal for Syria of US$3.2 billion remains 29% funded, as of December 2025.
Plans of major aid donors, including the UKIn 2023, the UK was the sixth largest government aid donor to Syria, behind Turkey, the United States, Germany, the European Union (EU), and the United Arab Emirates.
However, from 2025, several donors are planning to reduce their global aid budgets. In addition to the UK, this includes the US, Germany and the EU.
In 2025, the UK will provide up to £255 million to Syria and the region. However, bilateral aid specifically for Syria from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will fall from £151 million in 2024/25 to £97 million in 2025/26 (aid can also be spent multilaterally, though international agencies).
Regional states, notably Turkey and the Arab Gulf, are expected to increase aid and investment to support stability and increase their influence in post-Assad Syria. Turkey is also hoping to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees, the country having hosted 3.7 million at their peak.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia and Qatar cleared Syria’s debts with the World Bank, allowing it once again to borrow from the Bank.
Reductions in aid spending but increased aid accessAid reductions in 2025, notably from the United States, have resulted in some cuts to local services.
This has included suspending or reducing some hospital services, protection services for women and girls, and support for refugees.
The US aid freeze, introduced by President Trump after his inauguration in January 2025, also impacted on funding for camps holding Islamic State/Daesh fighters and their families.
However, due to improved security and humanitarian access, the overall number of Syrians reached by UN agencies is 25% higher than in 2024. On average, around 3.4 million people are reached each month.
In areas experiencing continuing conflict, aid deliveries are much lower, with access challenges exacerbated by limited funding.
1.5 What sanctions are being lifted? No UN economic sanctionsDue to Russian and Chinese opposition at the UN Security Council, no UN economic sanctions were applied against Assad and Syria during the civil war.
UN sanctions against the interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, were lifted in November 2025.
European and American sanctions regimesWhile no UN sanctions have targeted the Syrian economy, the UK, EU and US had each imposed an extensive series of sanctions. These targeted Syria’s banking and oil sectors (among others) and curtailed the country’s access to international markets but included exemptions for humanitarian aid.
For an overview of these sanctions regimes, see section 4 of the Commons Library briefing, Syria’s civil war in 2023: Assad back in the Arab League.
The most extensive sanctions regime is that of the United States. It has classed Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 also allows the US to sanction non-Syrian entities for engaging with the Assad regime.
Removal of some sanctions in 2025Some regional countries’ have long been calling for sanctions relief (including under Assad), to support investment and promote their influence in Syria.
Analysts argue that sanctions relief will speed up economic recovery and support political stability.
In 2025, the EU, UK and US have lifted or suspended many of their economic sanctions. UK changes were debated in the House of Commons in May 2025.
The UK Government also issued new guidance on trading with Syria in December.
The Conservative party has argued that UK sanctions relief should be more conditional on the actions of Syria’s interim authorities.
The removal of sanctions has since allowed Syria to export oil for the first time in 14 years.
New UK sanctions in response to 2025 violenceWhen amending its Syria sanctions regime, the UK Government said it would continue to deploy sanctions against those “who bear responsibility for repression and human rights abuses” and new sanctions would be imposed, if necessary.
In December 2025, six individuals and three organisations were sanctioned in response to their involvement in the coastal violence earlier in 2025 and Assad-era violations. Other sanctions against Assad-era figures remain in place.
Removal of Caesar sanctionsThe permanent removal of the Caesar sanctions required US congressional approval. These were repealed in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, passed in December 2025.
Under the Act, the US President must report to Congress on Syria’s progress on issues including combating Islamic State/Daesh, protecting religious and ethnic minorities and not posing a threat to Israel. The Act does not compel the reimposition of sanctions if progress has not been made, but suggests the president can consider whether to impose targeted sanctions on individuals.
1.6 Further reading Humanitarian situation and refugees- UN Development Programme, The impact of the conflict in Syria, February 2025
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Syrian Arab Republic: Humanitarian Response Priorities, July 2025
- Arab Center Washington DC, Refugees return to Syria: Challenges and uncertainties, August 2025
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs: Syrian Arab republic: Overview of humanitarian response, January to October 2025, December 2025
- New Humanitarian, It’s time for a reckoning at the UN in Syria, and beyond: Lessons learned from the UN’s Syrian response, December 2024
- Commons Library Syria after Assad: Consequences and interim authorities 2025, updated July 2025. Section 5 provides background on the sanctions previously in place and developments to July.
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK humanitarian aid and spend in Syria factsheet 2024 to 2025, October 2025
- ODI Global, Lifting sanctions on Syria: a bumpy path, May 2025
Other Library briefings cover aspects of Syria and its global relations a year after Assad’s fall:
2) The situation for religious minorities
3) UK and international relations
The Library briefing, Syria after Assad: Consequences and interim authorities 2025, updated July 2025, provides an introduction to post-Assad Syria, the key local and international actors, and the UK response.