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Israel

Also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries Note--The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives, Syria, and Jordan to determine the final status of the occupied territories. 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.

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Area

• Total area: 20,770 sq km
• Land area: 20,330 sq km
• Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land Boundaries

Coastline

Maritime Claims

• Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

International Disputes

Climate

Terrain

Natural Resources

• Copper
• Phosphates
• Bromide
• Potash
• Clay
• Sand
• Sulfur
• Asphalt
• Manganese
• Small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land Use

• Arable land: 17%
• Permanent crops: 5%
• Meadows and pastures: 40%
• Forest and woodland: 6%
• Other: 32%

Irrigated Land

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
• Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer
• International agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation

PEOPLE

Population

Note: Includes 127,600 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, 14,800 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and 153,700 in East Jerusalem (August 1995 est.)
122,000 West Bank, 14,500 Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 4,800 Gaza Strip, 149,000 East Jerusalem (August 1994 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

15-64 Years

65 Years and Over

Population Growth Rate

Birth Rate

Death Rate

Net Migration Rate

Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

Life Expectancy at Birth

• Total population: 78.01 years (1996 est.); 78.14 years (1995 est.)
• Male: 76.16 years (1996 est.); 76 years (1995 est.)
• Female: 79.96 years (1996 est.); 80.39 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

Nationality

• Noun: Israeli(s)
• Adjective: Israeli

Ethnic Divisions

• Jewish 82% (Israel born 50%
• Europe/Americas/Oceania born 20%
• Africa born 7%
• Asia born 5%)
• Non-Jewish 18% (mostly Arab) (1993 est.)

Religions

• Judaism 82%
• Islam 14% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2%
• Druze and other 2%

Languages

Literacy

• Total population: 95%
• Male: 97%
• Female: 93%

Labor Force

By occupation:

• Public services 29.3%
• Industry 22.1%
• Commerce 13.9%
• Finance and business 10.4%
• Personal and other services 7.4%
• Construction 6.5%
• Transport, storage, and communications 6.3%
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%
• Other 0.6% (1992)

GOVERNMENT

Names

• Conventional long form: State of Israel
• Conventional short form: Israel
• Local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
• Local short form: Yisra'el

Digraph

Type

Capital

Note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but nearly all other countries, do not recognize this status

Administrative Divisions

Independence

National Holiday

Constitution

Legal System

Suffrage

Executive Branch

• Chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993) election last held 24 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Ezer WEIZMAN elected by Knesset
• Head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 29 May 1996)
  15 November 1995 - 29 May 1996: Prime Minister Shimon PERES was appointed by the president following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN July 1992 - November 1995: Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN
• Cabinet: Cabinet; selected from and approved by the Knesset

Legislative Branch

• Parliament (Knesset): elections last held 29 May 1996 (next to be held by NA 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total)

Judicial Branch

Political Parties and Leaders

• Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael EITAN; National Religious Party, Zevulun HAMMER; United Torah Jewry, Avraham SHAPIRA; Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Peace Guard (independent), Shaul GUTMAN; SHAS, Arieh DERI; Right of Israel, leader NA
  Labor Party, Prime Minister Shimon PERES; MERETZ, Minister of Environment Yossi SARID; Yi'ud, Gonen SEGEV
  Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID; Arab Democratic Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH

  Other Political or Pressure Groups

  Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy

  Member of

  AG (observer), BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

  National Anthem

  • National anthem
  • Anthem english text
  • Anthem native text

  Flag

  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 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. Industry employs about 22% of Israeli workers, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, and services the rest. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts 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. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel has been targeting high-technology niches in international markets, such as medical scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR, which topped 525,000 during the period 1990-95, increased unemployment, intensified housing problems, and strained the government budget. At the same time, the immigrants bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.

  National Product

  GDP - purchasing power parity - $80.1 billion (1995 est.); $70.1 billion (1994 est.)

  National Product Real Growth Rate

  7.1% (1995 est.)
  6.8% (1994 est.)

  National Product Per Capita

  $15,500 (1995 est.)
  $13,880 (1994 est.)

  Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

  10.1% (1995)
  14.5% (1994)

  Unemployment Rate

  6.3% (1995 est.)
  7.5% (1994 est.)

  Budget

  • Revenues: $41 billion (1996); $42.3 billion (FY92/93 est.)
  • Expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996); $45.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.1 billion (FY92/93)

  Exports

  $28.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  $16.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

  Commodities:

  • Machinery and equipment
  • Cut diamonds
  • Chemicals
  • Textiles and apparel
  • Agricultural products
  • Metals

  Partners:

  • U.S.
  • EU
  • Japan

  Imports

  $40.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  $22.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

  Commodities:

  • Military equipment
  • Investment goods
  • Rough diamonds
  • Oil
  • Other productive inputs
  • Consumer goods

  Partners:

  • EU
  • U.S.
  • Japan

  External Debt

  $18.5 billion (1995 est.)
  $25.9 billion (November 1994 est.)

  Industrial Production

  Growth rate 10.3% (1995 est.); 8% (1994 est.); accounts for 22% of GDP

  Electricity

  • Capacity: 4,140,000 kW
  • Production: 23 billion kWh
  • Consumption per capita: 4,290 kWh (1993)

  Industries

  • Food processing
  • Diamond cutting and polishing
  • Textiles and apparel
  • Chemicals
  • Metal products
  • Military equipment
  • Transport equipment
  • Electrical equipment
  • Miscellaneous machinery
  • Potash mining
  • High-technology electronics
  • Tourism

  Agriculture

  Citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

  Illicit Drugs

  Increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse and trafficking

  Economic Aid

  • Recipient: total receipts $12.14 billion of which $11.38 billion from the US (1990-93); U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.8 billion

  Currency

  1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

  Exchange Rates

  New Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.1295 (January 1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989)

  Fiscal Year

  Calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

  TRANSPORTATION

  Railroads

  • Total: 526 km
  • Standard gauge: 520 km 1.435-m gauge

  Highways

  • Total: 13,461 km
  • Paved: 13,461 km

  Pipelines

  Crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km

  Ports

  Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat, Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo

  Merchant Marine

  • Total: 28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 577,747 GRT/701,459 DWT
  • Ships by type: cargo 5, container 20, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

  Airports

  • Total: 50
  • With paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
  • With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
  • With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
  • With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
  • With paved runways under 914 m: 22
  • with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  • With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

  Heliports

  2 (1995 est.)

  COMMUNICATIONS

  Telephone System

  2.425 million telephones (1990 est.); most highly developed in the Middle East although not the largest
  • Local: NA
  • Intercity: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
  • International: 3 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations

  Radio

  • Broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0
  • Radios: 2.25 million (1993 est.)

  Television

  • Broadcast stations: 20
  • Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)

  DEFENSE FORCES

  Branches

  Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services

  Manpower Availability

  Males age 15-49 1,390,603; females age 15-49 1,636,986; males fit for military service 1,139,137; females fit for military service 1,112,947; males reach military age (18) annually 50,508; females reach military age (18) annually 48,176 (1996 est.)

  Note: Military service mandatory for men and women

  Defense Expenditures

  Exchange rate conversion - $9.2 billion, about 9.8% of GDP (1996); $6.5 billion, about 10% of GDP (1995)

  History
  World Atlas

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