Map of Israel | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: 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 1989, 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.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 273 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 6 nm

Climate: temperate; hot and dry in desert areas

Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

Elevation

Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land use: 17% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures; 6% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 11% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: there are 171 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, 35 in the Golan Heights, 17 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem


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Population: 4,371,478 (July 1989), growth rate 1.7% (1989; includes 65,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 10,500 in the Golan Heights, 2,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 104,000 (est.) in East Jerusalem

Nationality: noun - Israeli(s; adjective - Israeli

Ethnic groups: 83% Jewish, 17% non-Jewish (mostly Arab)

Languages: Hebrew (official; Arabic used officially for Arab minority; English most commonly used foreign language

Religions: 83% Judaism, 13.1% Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim), 2.3% Christian, 1.6% Druze

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 22 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land: and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation;

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1000 live births (July 1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 79 years female (July 1989)

Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 88% Jews, 70% Arabs

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: State of Israel

Government type: republic

Capital: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem 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

Dependent areas

Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 May 1989; 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 Knesset (legislature) - relating to the Knesset, Israeli lands, the president, the government - and the Israel citizenship law

Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal area, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; commercial matters regulated substantially by codes adopted since 1948; no judicial review of legislative acts; in December 1985 Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State - President Gen. Chaim HERZOG (since 5 May 1983; Head of Government - Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR (since 20 October 1986; Vice Prime Minister Shimon PERES (President from 13 September 1984 to 20 October 1986, when he rotated to Vice Prime Minister)

Legislative branch: Israel Defense Forces; historically there have been no separate Israeli military services; ground, air, and naval components are branches of Israel Defense Forces

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CCC, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB - Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOOC, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC - International Wheat Council, OAS (observer), UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Moshe ARAD; Chancery at 3,514 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 364-5,500; there are Israeli Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco; US - Ambassador William A. BROWN; Embassy at 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv (mailing address is APO New York 9,672; telephone Õ972å (3) 654,338; there is a US Consulate General in Jerusalem

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports for crude oil, food, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has developed its agriculture and industry sectors on an intensive scale over the past 20 years. This policy has transformed the economy into that of a modern industrial and service-oriented state. Industry accounts for about 23% of the labor force, agriculture for 6%, and services for most of the balance. Diamonds, high-technology machinery, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the biggest export earners. The balance of payments has traditionally been negative, but is offset by large transfer payments and foreign loans. In September 1988 nearly two-thirds of Israel's $16 billion external debt was owed to the US, which is its major source for economic and military aid. In order to earn needed foreign exchange, Israel must continue to exploit high-technology niches in the international market, such as medical scanning equipment. In 1987 the economy showed a 5.2% growth in real GNP, the best gain in nearly a decade; in 1988 the gain was only 1%, largely due to the economic impact of the Palestinian uprising (intifadah). Inflation dropped from an annual rate of over 400% in 1984 to about 16% in 1987-88, without any major increase in unemployment.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton, beef and dairy products, poultry products; a world leader in irrigation techniques

Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment, electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: - 3% (1988)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 8% (March 1989)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $23.5 billion; expenditures $23.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY87)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $9.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: polished diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed foods, fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics
Partners: US, UK, FRG, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy

Imports: $12.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988)
Commodities: military equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and steel, cereals, textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft
Partners: US, FRG, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $16 billion (September 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 1.8157 (January 1989), 1.5992 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 4,192,000 kW capacity; 17,317 million kWh produced, 4,030 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $5.2 billion, 17.7% of central government budget (FY89)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 55 total, 52 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil, 708 km; refined products, 290 km; natural gas, 89 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 527,353 GRT/632,389 DWT; includes 12 cargo, 21 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 bulk, 1 combination bulk

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: separated from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs