|
In general, information available as of 1 January
2003
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2003.
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
|
Legend:  Definition  Field Listing  Rank Order
|
Background: |
Following World War II, the
British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the
area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs.
Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending
the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel
since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless
otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to
the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes
with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.
In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon,
which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at
the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted
between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West
Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress
toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of
Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. |
|
Location: |
Middle East,
bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
|
Geographic coordinates: |
31 30 N, 34 45 E
|
|
Map references: |
Middle East |
|
Area: |
total: 20,770 sq km
water: 440 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than
New Jersey |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 1,017
km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km,
Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
|
Coastline: |
273 km |
|
Maritime claims: |
continental
shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
|
Climate: |
temperate; hot and
dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
|
Terrain: |
Negev desert in the
south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
|
Natural resources: |
timber, potash,
copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
|
|
Land use: |
arable land:
17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17%
other: 78.81% (1998 est.)
|
|
Irrigated land: |
1,990 sq km (1998
est.) |
|
Natural hazards: |
sandstorms may occur
during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
|
Environment - current issues: |
limited arable land
and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air
pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from
industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation |
|
Geography - note: |
there are 242 Israeli
settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem
(February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
|
Population: |
6,116,533 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about
20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip,
and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years:
26.9% (male 842,885; female 803,864)
15-64 years: 63.2% (male
1,941,440; female 1,922,512)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 260,315;
female 345,517) (2003 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 28.9
years
male: 28.1 years
female: 29.8 years (2002)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
1.39% (2003 est.)
|
|
Birth rate: |
18.67 births/1,000 population (2003
est.) |
|
Death rate: |
6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
|
|
Net migration rate: |
1.39 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2003 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live
births
female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 8.14 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 79.02 years
male: 76.95 years
female: 81.19 years (2003 est.)
|
|
Total fertility rate: |
2.5 children born/woman (2003 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
2,400 (1999 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
100 (2001 est.) |
|
Nationality: |
noun:
Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
|
Ethnic groups: |
Jewish 80.1%
(Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born
12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
|
Religions: |
Jewish 80.1%, Muslim
14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
|
Languages: |
Hebrew (official),
Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign
language |
|
Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4%
male: 97.3%
female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
|
Country name: |
conventional long
form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local short form: Yisra'el
local long form: Medinat
Yisra'el |
|
Government type: |
parliamentary
democracy |
|
Capital: |
Jerusalem; note -
Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all
other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
|
Administrative divisions: |
6 districts (mehozot,
singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
|
|
Independence: |
14 May 1948 (from
League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
|
National holiday: |
Independence Day, 14
May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish
calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
|
Constitution: |
no formal
constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the
Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset),
and the Israeli citizenship law |
|
Legal system: |
mixture of English
common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish,
Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN
Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
|
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
|
Executive branch: |
chief of
state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
elections:
president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31
July 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); following legislative elections, the
president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest
party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January
2003 (next to be held fall of 2007)
head of government: Prime
Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet selected
by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
election results: Moshe
KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes,
other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions);
Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January
2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government
with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
|
Legislative branch: |
unicameral Knesset or
parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor
14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah
Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and
Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%,
United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by
party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6,
National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace
and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab
List 2 |
|
Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court
(justices appointed for life by the president) |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
Center Party [Dan
MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA];
Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Green Leaf Party
[Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin
BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR];
Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA];
National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON]
(includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir
PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd
al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or
YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
Israeli nationalists
advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports
territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council
promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors
human rights abuses |
|
International organization participation: |
BSEC (observer), CE
(observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
consulate(s) general: Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San
Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607
telephone: [1] (202)
364-5500
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
|
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon
Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830
telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453
FAX:
[972] (3) 517-4390
consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an
independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to
a foreign government |
|
Flag description: |
white with a blue
hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David)
centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges
of the flag |
|
Economy - overview: |
Israel has a
technologically advanced market economy with substantial government
participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and
military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively
developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel
imports significant quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other
agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural
products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts
sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments
from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt
is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The
influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99,
coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized
Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s; growth began moderating
in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the
immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 7.2% in 2000, but the bitter
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, difficulties in the high-technology, construction,
and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led
to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. |
|
GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $117.4
billion (2002 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
-0.8% (2002 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2002
est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture:
3%
industry: 30%
services: 67% (2001 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
18% (2001 est.)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
35.5 (2001)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
5.7% (2002 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
2.5 million (2002 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
public services
31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%,
construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and
communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
10.4% (2002 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues:
$38.5 billion
expenditures: $45.1 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
|
Industries: |
high-technology
projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and
manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and
phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting
|
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
-1.5% (2002 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
42.24 billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel:
99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
37.82 billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
1.457 billion kWh
(2001) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2001)
|
|
Oil - production: |
80 bbl/day NA bbl/day (2001 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption: |
260,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
NA (2001) |
|
Oil - imports: |
NA (2001) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
1.92 million bbl (37257) |
|
Natural gas - production: |
10 million cu m (2001
est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
10 million cu m (2001
est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2001 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2001 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
20.81 billion cu m (37257) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
citrus, vegetables,
cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
|
Exports: |
$28.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities: |
machinery and
equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles
and apparel |
|
Exports - partners: |
US 39.2%, Belgium
6.5%, Germany 4.4%, UK 4.2% (2002) |
|
Imports: |
$30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities: |
raw materials,
military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer
goods |
|
Imports - partners: |
US 21.6%, Belgium
8.9%, Germany 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Switzerland 4.9%, Italy 4.5% (2002) |
|
Debt - external: |
$42.8 billion (2001 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$720 million from US
(2001 est.) |
|
Currency: |
new Israeli shekel
(ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International
Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS |
|
Currency code: |
ILS |
|
Exchange rates: |
new Israeli shekels
per US dollar - 4.74 (2002), 4.21 (2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999), 3.8 (1998)
|
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Railways: |
total: 640 km
standard
gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
|
Highways: |
total: 16,281 km
paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways)
unpaved:
0 km (2000) |
|
Waterways: |
none |
|
Pipelines: |
gas 100 km; oil 1,509
km (2003) |
|
Ports and harbors: |
Ashdod, Ashqelon,
Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 18
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 705,897 GRT/823,605 DWT
ships by type:
container 17, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
|
Airports: |
52 (2002) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
914 to 1,523
m: 11
under 914 m: 4 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914
m: 20 (2002) |
|
Heliports: |
3 (2002) |
|
Military branches: |
Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces),
Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate
Israeli military services |
|
Military manpower - military age: |
18 years of age (2003
est.) |
|
Military manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 1,562,716
note: both sexes are liable for military service
(2003 est.)
females age 15-49: 1,516,505 |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 1,279,277
females age 15-49: 1,237,926 (2003 est.)
|
|
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 51,080
females: 53,496 (2003 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
$8.97 billion (FY02) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
8.75% (FY02) |
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003 |
4th Quarter
2003 3rd Quarter
2003[] 2nd Quarter
2003 [] 1st Quarter
2003
[] 4th Quarter
2002 [] Apr.02 - Sept.02
[] Sept.01 - Mar.02 Archives
2004
Index
pages Photos
Audio Video
Graphics Terror
Home
www.
|
