Network Syria
Qualitative market research agency in Syria
MindMarket is a market research agency that runs qualitative studies in Syria, from in-depth interviews and focus groups to shop-alongs and home visits, with moderators who live in the country and one project manager for your whole study. Syria has a population of 25.8 million and a median age of 23.3, and 35.8 per cent of residents are online (DataReportal, Digital 2026). International sanctions were lifted in 2025 and 2026 and a new currency entered circulation in January 2026, so brands are looking at a market that changed faster than the data about it. Research in Syria starts with a feasibility check: where fieldwork can be held, how participants are paid, and what your own compliance team allows.
AT A GLANCE
Syria at a glance for researchers
- Population. 25.8 million people, median age 23.3, 58.8 per cent in urban areas (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Damascus, the capital, and Aleppo, in the north, are the two largest cities. Homs and Hama lie between them, and Latakia and Tartus are the ports on the Mediterranean. Millions of Syrians live abroad, and many have returned since the end of 2024. Damascus lies in the south-west, four to five hours from Aleppo by road.
- Languages. Arabic, in its Syrian form, in every session. Kurdish is spoken in the north-east, and participants there are asked which language they prefer. Our moderators live in Syria, and your team follows through simultaneous interpretation.
- Internet and mobile. Internet users number 9.25 million, or 35.8 per cent of the population, alongside 20.1 million mobile connections (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Mobile data is the working connection, with a median download speed of 24.69 Mbps against 3.35 Mbps on fixed lines (same source). Mobile connections stand at 77.7 per cent of the population. Video sessions run on mobile data, with audio as the fallback.
- Where fieldwork happens. Damascus first, then Aleppo, Homs or Latakia. Each city is confirmed at the feasibility stage, and we say so when a place cannot be visited safely.
- Data protection. Consent is collected before each session, in Arabic, after a plain explanation of what is recorded and how it will be used. Recordings are shared with your team only, and your legal team is told where the data is stored.
- Timing. We do not schedule fieldwork during Ramadan, and the two Eid holidays stop work for several days. The weekend is Friday and Saturday. Power cuts are common, so sessions are timed around electricity and mobile coverage.
IN THE FIELD
How does an interview run in Syria?
In Syria, two people in three are not online and fixed lines are slow. An online study reaches a narrow, connected group in the big cities. A study in Syria that needs households, shopkeepers or returnees is held in person, in Arabic, by moderators who live there.
- Feasibility before design. Before a quote, we confirm which cities are open to fieldwork, how incentives reach participants and what your compliance team needs in writing. If a part of the brief cannot be done properly, we say so and propose another way. The check takes a few days and comes with a written summary.
- In person, in Arabic. Interviews, small groups and home visits are held face to face. Women's and men's sessions are planned at recruitment, with a moderator of the same gender when participants prefer. Sessions are held in homes, offices or hotel meeting rooms, in daylight hours.
- Prices with their date and currency. New banknotes have circulated since January 2026, and people may quote old or new amounts. Price research records the date, the place and the currency of every price discussed. Dollar prices are noted where traders quote them.
- Residents, returnees and Syrians abroad. People who stayed, people who came back and people who live abroad buy with different references. Each is recruited as its own audience, and Syrians abroad are interviewed where they live. Interviews abroad can run by video, since connections there are faster.
RECRUITMENT
How do you recruit participants in Syria?
- We recruit through local partners in Damascus and Aleppo, by city, age, household situation and category use. The recruiter phones each participant the day before to confirm, and quotas are set with you at the start. Recruitment goes through people the neighbourhood knows.
- Business owners and traders are approached directly, and their role is checked before the interview is booked. Frequent study participants are screened out of consumer groups. Shopkeepers are met in their shops, outside the busiest hours.
- MindMarket pays every participant's incentive itself. You never handle it.
METHODS
Which methods work in Syria?
Most studies in Syria run as in-depth interviews and focus groups, with shop-alongs, ethnographic home visits or customer intercepts when the question needs them.
| Method | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| In-depth interviews | Traders, business owners and household decision-makers, in person or by phone | A video call planned without an audio fallback |
| Focus groups | Food, household goods and advertising in Damascus, in small groups | One Damascus group taken as the national picture |
| Shop-alongs | Souks, neighbourhood shops and the first modern stores | Prices recorded without their date and currency |
| Home visits | Cooking, household spending and how electricity shapes the day | Visits set up cold, with no trusted contact |
| Customer intercepts | Markets and shopping streets, with short questionnaires | The hours of a power cut, when shops close early |
QUESTIONS
Questions buyers ask about research in Syria
How much does market research cost in Syria?
A full-service qualitative study with MindMarket starts at $40,000 for the first market, and Syria added to a multi-country study starts from $8,000. The feasibility check, travel between cities and the way incentives are paid move the price more than the number of sessions. Every quote is itemised and follows within 48 hours of a first call. Estimate your study.
How do I choose a market research agency in Syria?
Choose by what the study has to decide. A local research company fits a survey inside one city. A qualitative specialist such as MindMarket fits a brand from outside Syria that needs local people heard in their own language, by moderators who live there, with one team across every country. Read how to choose a global qualitative research agency.
Is it possible to run market research in Syria now?
Market research in Syria is possible in the main cities, with a feasibility check first. We confirm where fieldwork can be held, how participants are paid and what your compliance team requires, then design the study. Where a city or a method is not workable, we say so before you commit. A first study often covers Damascus alone, with eight to twelve interviews.
Can research in Syria be done online?
Online research in Syria reaches a small, connected group: 35.8 per cent of people use the internet, and fixed lines are slow. Phone and mobile video work with some professionals. For households and shopkeepers, sessions are held in person. Phone interviews are recorded with consent.
Can Syrians living abroad take part in a study about Syria?
Syrians living abroad can take part, as their own audience. Those in Jordan, Turkey, the Gulf or Europe are interviewed where they live, in Arabic, and those who have returned to Syria are recruited there. The report keeps residents, returnees and people abroad apart. One project manager runs all three.
Can you help us decide, not only run the interviews?
Yes. Beyond the fieldwork, our Customer-Led Strategy work turns what people in Syria told us into a recommendation: what to do, what not to do, and why. We form the hypotheses, test them with your customers and recommend from their words. If you already work with strategy consultants, we work alongside them.
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