The majority of the soldiers in the Syrian armed forces are Alawites; like President Bashar Al-Assad. Alawites make up 7 percent of the Syrian population but are estimated to make up 70 percent of the career soldiers in the Syrian army. Of the 200;000 or so career soldiers in the Syrian army 140;000 are Alawites. A similar imbalance is seen in the officer corps where some 80 percent of the officers are Alawites. The military's most elite division; the Republican Guard; and the 4th Mechanized Division are exclusively Alawite.