Map of Israel | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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 has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict may have reached a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT.


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Location: Middle East bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Lebanon

Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N 34 45 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 20,770 km²
Land: 20,330 km²
Water: 440 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1,017 km
Border countries: (6) 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
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation

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
Extremes 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: 16.39%
Permanent crops: 4.17%
Other: 79.44% (2001)

Irrigated land: 1990 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes

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


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Population
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 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 1.29% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: 18% (2001 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Israeli
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.)

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

Religions: Jewish 80.1% Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim) Christian 2.1% other 3.2% (1996 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 847,591; female 808,399)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,976,539; female 1,954,782)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 262,781; female 348,916) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 29.2 years
Male: 28.3 years
Female: 30 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.29% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 18.45 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 6.19 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.68 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.21 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 7.96 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 6.42 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.17 years
Male: 77.08 years
Female: 81.37 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 2,400 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95.4%
Male: 97.3%
Female: 93.6% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
Head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001)
Cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
Elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-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 schedulde to be held fall of 2006)
Election results: Moshe KATZAV 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
Elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next scheduled to be held fall of 2006)
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 Assembly 2.3%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya (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 Assembly 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)

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]; Labor Party [Shimon PERES]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; 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]; 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]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
In the us chancery: 3,514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-5,578
In the us fax: [1] (202) 364-5,560
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
From the us embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63,903
From the us mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 9,830
From the us telephone: [972] (3) 519-7,369/7,453/7,454/7,457/7,458/7,551/7,575
From the us fax: [972] (3) 516-4,390
From the us consulates 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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 grew at 1% in 2003 with improvements in tourism and foreign direct investment. In 2004 rising business and consumer confidence - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 2.7%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.3% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,800 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.8%
Industry: 37.7%
Services: 59.5% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: citrus vegetables cotton; beef poultry dairy products

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: -0.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 2.61 million (2003 est.)
By occupation: agriculture forestry and fishing 2.6% manufacturing 20.2% construction 7.5% commerce 12.8% transport storage and communications 6.2% finance and business 13.1% personal and other services 6.4% public services 31.2% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 10.7% (2003 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 18% (2001 est.)

Gini index

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)

Budget
Revenues: $44.98 billion
Expenditures: $51.07 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 108.6% of GDP (2003)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.7% (2003 est.)

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: $-174 million (2003)

Exports: $29.32 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment software cut diamonds agricultural products chemicals textiles and apparel
Partners: US 38.4% Belgium 7.4% Hong Kong 4.8% (2003)

Imports: $32.27 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: raw materials military equipment investment goods rough diamonds fuels grain consumer goods
Partners: US 15.6% Belgium 9.3% Germany 8% UK 6.7% Switzerland 6.1% Italy 4.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $70.97 billion (2003 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003) 4.7378 (2002) 4.2057 (2001) 4.0773 (2000) 4.1397 (1999)


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Electricity
Production: 42.24 billion kWh (2001)
Consumption: 37.82 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 1.457 billion kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 10 million m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 10 million m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 20.81 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.006 million (2002)
Mobile cellular: 6.334 million (2002)

Telephone system
General assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
Domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital
International: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .il
Hosts: 437,516 (2004)
Users: 2 million (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $9.11 billion (FY03)
Percent of gdp: 8.7% (FY02)

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: 51 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 28
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With paved runways under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 23
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 3 (2003 est.)

Pipelines: gas 140 km; oil 1509 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 640 km
Standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 752,873 GRT/881,711 DWT
By type: container 18
Registered in other countries: 40 (2004 est.)

Ports and terminals


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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; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights)

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: 276,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2004)

Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly from Jordan; money-laundering center