Is Syria a hardship duty station for UN staff?

Syria is classified by the UN ICSC as hardship category E — the most difficult hardship category. Staff in categories B–E receive a monthly hardship allowance that rises with the category.

Does Syria qualify for UN danger pay?

Yes. Staff in Syria may receive danger pay — about $1,645/month for internationally recruited staff, or 30% of the local salary-scale midpoint for locally recruited staff.

What is the cost of living in Syria for UN staff?

Everyday prices in Syria are roughly 22% of United States levels (World Bank price level index, US = 100). UN salaries are adjusted for this through post adjustment.

What post adjustment applies to UN salaries in Syria?

UN Professional salaries in Syria carry a post adjustment of about 30%, added to net base salary to equalise purchasing power across duty stations.

Aleppo, Syria: UN Salary & Benefits by Grade — Post Adjustment, Hardship & Danger Pay

Q: Is Syria a family or non-family UN duty station?

Syria is a non-family duty station: dependants may not accompany staff. Internationally recruited staff receive an additional non-family allowance of about $19,800/year with eligible dependants (or $7,500 without).

Your Take-Home in Syria

An estimate for a UN post at Aleppo, Syria — for internationally recruited staff (Professional P / D, in US dollars) or locally recruited staff (General Service / National Officer, local scale).

Grade

Step

Dependent children

Prior assignments (mobility)

You must already have 5 years' continuous UN service to qualify, and it applies from your 2nd duty station onward. Paid for up to 5 years at any one station.

Dependent spouse

Single parent (no spouse)

Secondary dependant (no spouse)

Net remuneration (base + post adj.)

{{ money((netBase + postAdj) / divisor) }} / {{ period=='month' ? 'mo' : 'yr' }}

Gross base salary{{ money(grossBase / divisor) }}

Staff assessment (internal tax)− {{ money(staffAssessment / divisor) }}

Net base salary{{ money(netBase / divisor) }}

Post adjustment ({{ station.multiplier }}%)+ {{ money(postAdj / divisor) }}

Net remuneration{{ money((netBase + postAdj) / divisor) }}

Spouse allowance (6%)+ {{ money(spouseAllow / divisor) }}

Single-parent allowance (6%)+ {{ money(singleParentAllow / divisor) }}

Hardship allowance (cat {{ station.hardship }})+ {{ money(hardshipAllow / divisor) }}

Danger pay+ {{ money(dangerAllow / divisor) }}

Non-family allowance+ {{ money(nonFamilyAllow / divisor) }}

Mobility allowance ({{ assignments }} assignments)+ {{ money(mobilityAllow / divisor) }}

Child allowance ({{ children }})+ {{ money(childAllow / divisor) }}

Secondary dependant+ {{ money(secondaryAllow / divisor) }}

Pension contribution (7.9%)− {{ money(pension / divisor) }}

Health insurance *− {{ money(medical / divisor) }}

Estimated take-home{{ money(takeHome / divisor) }}

Grade

Step

Dependent children

Dependent spouse

Net salary (local scale)

{{ localMoney(gsNet / divisor) }} / {{ period=='month' ? 'mo' : 'yr' }}

On the local GS/NO scale, in USD, for {{ gDisp(gsGradeLabel) }}, step {{ gsStep }} (locally recruited staff). No post adjustment. Dependency & language allowances are additional.

* Health insurance is indicative only — real premiums vary by organization, plan (medical and dental are billed separately) and coverage option. The ~2.5% shown is a placeholder, not a quote.

Indicative estimate — excludes rental subsidy, education grant and settling-in. Professional (P/D) pay is in US dollars; GS/NO on the local scale in local currency. For information only — not official advice.

Go deeper

Build your full UN pay, layer by layer, with the Pay Stack

The estimate above is a quick snapshot for one duty station. The Pay Stack lets you pick any duty station, switch between Professional, GS & NO, layer in dependants, language, and other field based allowances — watch the salary build up, then pension & insurance come off, so you see exactly what lands. A much clearer read.

Open the Pay Stack calculator

Allowances & Benefits in Aleppo

On top of net base salary, ICSC common-system entitlements adjust pay for cost of living and the difficulty of the posting. Not every allowance applies to every posting or every staff category — each is tagged below. Amounts are 2025 rates in US dollars.

Who gets it: IP internationally recruited P/D · GS / NO locally recruited · All staff all staff

Hardship Classification IP

Category E

E is the most difficult category — remote, under-served, or affected by insecurity or conflict.

Annual hardship allowance (internationally recruited) differs by grade:

$18,340

P-1 – P-3

$22,000

P-4 – P-5

$24,460

P-6+ / D

How hardship & mobility work

Post Adjustment IP

30%

Post adjustment is a cost-of-living multiplier added to net base salary so purchasing power is comparable across duty stations. It is set city by city, not country-wide. New York (HQ) is 76%.

Syria (Aleppo)

30%

New York (HQ)

76%

Other duty stations in Syria: Damascus 30%.

Example of net base + post adjustment (30%), by grade (step 1, annual):

P-2

$73,028

net base $56,046

+$16,982 PA

P-3

$92,950

net base $71,335

+$21,615 PA

P-4

$112,093

net base $86,027

+$26,066 PA

P-5

$134,424

net base $103,165

+$31,259 PA

Post adjustment keeps your purchasing power comparable to New York — a lower multiplier usually reflects lower local costs, not less buying power. Read more about cost of living & real UN purchasing power →

Understand post adjustment

Danger Pay All staff

Granted where staff face serious danger such as armed conflict. The rate differs by recruitment type:

$1,645/mo

Internationally recruited (IP)

30% of midpoint

Locally recruited (GS / NO)

About danger pay

Non-Family Duty Station IP

Dependants may not accompany staff here for security reasons. Internationally recruited staff receive an additional non-family allowance:

$19,800/yr

With eligible dependants

$7,500/yr

Without dependants

About non-family duty stations

Rest & Recuperation All staff

Given its conditions, this duty station is typically R&R-eligible: staff receive a paid break with travel every 4–12 weeks depending on severity.

About Rest & Recuperation

Mobility Incentive IP

Aleppo is a hardship duty station (category E), so internationally recruited staff do earn a mobility incentive here — from their second assignment onward, once they have five years' continuous UN service. The annual amount depends on your grade and how many duty stations you've served (it's the same at any hardship location; only category H stations are excluded).

Annual incentive from your 2nd duty station (2nd–3rd), by grade:

$6,900/yr

P-1 – P-3

$8,625/yr

P-4 – P-5

$10,350/yr

P-6+ / D

It rises with each move: a P-4 / P-5, for example, earns $8,625 from the 2nd–3rd duty station, $10,781 from the 4th–6th, then $12,938 from the 7th onward. Set your prior assignments in the calculator ↑

About the mobility incentive

Indicative figures based on UN ICSC common-system rates (2025) & World Bank data — not official entitlement advice. See UN contracts & grade levels.

Pay by Grade in Aleppo

Open the full salary scale, allowances and estimated take-home for a specific grade at this duty station.

Professional & Director (internationally recruited)

P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4 P-5 D-1 D-2

General Service & National Officer (locally recruited)

G-1 G-2 G-3 G-4 G-5 G-6 G-7 NO-A NO-B NO-C NO-D

These are UN common-system pay figures (Secretariat, funds, agencies and programmes). The World Bank, IMF and other Bretton Woods institutions use their own scales, and NGOs and other non-UN employers that also post jobs in Aleppo set their own salaries and benefits — a role here does not guarantee these figures.

Salary & Benefits Tools

Pay Stack calculatorThe full take-home tool — any duty station, every allowance, built layer by layer UN salary scales by grade Post adjustment explained UN contracts & grade levels