World Facts

conventional long form: State of Israel
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
Type of Government: parliamentary democracy-
Administrative Divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 26.5% (male 851,415/female 812,095)
Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Airports: 51 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 28
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 20,770 sq km. slightly smaller than New Jersey
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. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. 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 and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. On 24 June 2002, US President BUSH laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence between September 2000 and February 2005. An agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005 significantly reduced the violence. The election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT, the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism coalition government in January 2005, and the successful Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip (August-September 2005), presented an opportunity for a renewed peace effort. However, internal Israeli political events between October and December 2005 have destabilized the political situation and forced early elections, scheduled for March 2006.
Birth rate: 18.21 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $43.82 billion
Coastline: 273 km-
Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Communications:
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
Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS-
Current account balance:
Death rate: 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $73.87 billion (30 June 2005 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel announced its intention to pull out Israeli settlers and withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank in 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $662 million from US (2003 est.)
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 substantial 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 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. The economy rebounded in 2003 and 2004, growing at a 4% rate each year, as the government tightened fiscal policy and implemented structural reforms to boost competition and efficiency in the markets. In 2005, rising consumer confidence, tourism and foreign direct investment - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 4.3%.-
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
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:
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.)
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.46 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
Exports: $40.14 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - partners: US 36.8%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2004)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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
GDP (official exchange rate): $123.7 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $139.2 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.8%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.3% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E
Geography - note: there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2005 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source-
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 100 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,000 (1999 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4%-
Illicit drugs:
Imports: $43.19 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - partners: US 15%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 7.5%, Switzerland 6.5%, UK 6.1% (2004)
Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate: 4.8% (2005 est.)
Industries: high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles and footwear
Infant mortality rate: total: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation: BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet country code: .il
Internet hosts: 437,516 (2004)
Internet users: 2 million (2002)
Investment (gross fixed): 17.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,990 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)
Labor force: 2.42 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 1,017 km
Land use: arable land: 16.39%
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.32 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon-
Major infectious diseases: -
Manpower available for military service: -
Manpower fit for military service:
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 53,760
Map references: Middle East
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Median age: total: 29.39 years
Merchant marine: total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 752,873 GRT/881,711 DWT-
Military - note: -
Military branches: -
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 8.7% (FY02)
Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for men, 21 months for women (2004)
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
Nationality: noun: Israeli(s)
Natural gas - consumption: 10 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: 10 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 20.81 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)-
Oil - consumption: -
Oil - exports: -
Oil - imports: -
Oil - production:
Oil - proved reserves: 1.92 million bbl (1 January 2002)-
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Green Leaf Party (no longer active) [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut (no longer active) [Michael KLEINER]; Kadima (formed in November 2005) [Ariel SHARON]; Labor Party [Amir PERETZ]; Likud Party [leader NA]; Meretz (merged with YAHAD) [Zahava GALON]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Ephraim "Efie" EITAM]; National Union (Haichud Haleumi) [Avigdor LIBERMAN] (includes Tekuma Moledet and Yisra'el Beiteinu); One Nation [David TAL]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Yosef "Tommy" LAPID]; Tzalash (Zionism, Liberty, and Equality) [Joseph PARITZKY]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA (merged with Likud) [Natan SHARANSKY]
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
Population: 6,276,883
Population below poverty line: 21% (2005)
Population growth rate: 1.2% (2005 est.)
Ports and terminals: Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa
Public debt: 101% of GDP (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways: total: 640 km
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 276,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2004)
Religions: Jewish 76.5%, Muslim 15.9%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2003)-
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Roadways: total: 17,237 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
Telephones - main lines in use: 3.006 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6.334 million (2002)
Television broadcast stations: 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)
Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Total fertility rate: 2.44 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 8.9% (2005 est.)-
Waterways: