Map of West Bank | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999 Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US EU UN and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless Israel still controls maritime airspace and other access to the Gaza Strip. In January 2006 the Islamic Resistance Movement HAMAS won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006 but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. Violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007 resulted in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. In February 2007 ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief Khalid MISHAL signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However fighting continued in the Gaza Strip and in June 2007 HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS that same month dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. Fatah and HAMAS in May 2011 under the auspices of Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation negotiations agreed to reunify the Palestinian territories but the factions have struggled to finalize details on governing and security structures. The status quo remains with HAMAS in control of the Gaza Strip and ABBAS and the Fatah-dominated PA governing the West Bank. FAYYAD and his PA government continue to implement a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS who on behalf of the Palestinians in September submitted a UN membership application has said he will not resume negotiations with current Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU until Israel halts all settlement activity i


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Location: Middle East west of Jordan east of Israel

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N 35 15 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 5,860 km²
Rank: 172
Land: 5,640 km²
Water: 220 km²
Note: includes West Bank Latrun Salient and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries
Total: 404 km
Border countries: (2) Israel 307 km; Jordan 97 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude warm to hot summers cool to mild winters

Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland some vegetation in west but barren in east

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
Extremes highest point: Tall Asur 1022 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use
Arable land: 16.9%
Permanent crops: 18.97%
Other: 64.13% (2001)

Irrigated land: 180 km²; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 355 Israeli civilian sites including about 145 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 32 sites in East Jerusalem (2010 est.)


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Population: 2,568,555 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 141
Note: approximately 296,700 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank (2009 est.); approximately 192,800 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2008 est.) (July 2011 est.)
Growth rate: 2.097% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 42
Below poverty line: 46% (2007 est.)

Nationality
Noun: NA
Adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83% Jewish 17%

Languages: Arabic Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians) English (widely understood)

Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni) Jewish 17% Christian and other 8%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 35.8%
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 796,421/female 757,227)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 39,546/female 55,637) (2011 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 21.3 years
Male: 21.1 years
Female: 21.5 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.097% (2011 est.)
Rank: 42

Birth rate: 24.56 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 65

Death rate: 3.58 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 210

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 113

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 72% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: adequacy of freshwater supply; sewage treatment

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.92 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 120
Male: 16.73 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.01 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.01 years
Rank: 89
Male: 72.97 years
Female: 77.17 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.05 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 63

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.4%
Male: 96.7%
Female: 88% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2006)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: West Bank

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - experienced a high single-digit economic growth rate in 2010 as a result of inflows of donor aid the Palestinian Authority's (PA) implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli Government. Nevertheless overall standard-of-living measures remain near levels seen prior to the start of the second intifada in 2000. The almost decade-long downturn largely has been a result of Israeli closure policies - a steady increase in movement and access restrictions across the West Bank in response to Israeli security concerns which have disrupted labor and trade flows industrial capacity and basic commerce both external and internal. Since 2008 the PA under President Mahmoud ABBAS and Prime Minister Salam FAYYAD has implemented a largely successful campaign of institutional reforms that has contributed to increased security and economic performance supported by more than $3 billion in direct foreign donor assistance to the PA's budget since 2007. An easing of some Israeli restrictions on West Bank movement and access since 2008 also has contributed to an uptick in retail activity in larger cities. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' lack of access to land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas import and export restrictions and a high-cost capital structure. Absent robust private sector growth the PA will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $11.95 billion (2008)
Rank: 141
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate: 2.3% (2008 est.)
Rank: 36

Real gdp per capita: $2,900 (2008 est.)
Rank: 169
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.7%
Industry: 13.6%
Services: 82.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: olives citrus fruit vegetables; beef dairy products

Industries: small-scale manufacturing quarrying textiles soap olive-wood carvings and mother-of-pearl souvenirs

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 694,000 (2009)
Rank: 149
By occupation agriculture: 12%
By occupation industry: 23%
By occupation services: 65% (June 2008)

Unemployment rate: 19% (2009 est.)
Rank: 154

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 46% (2007 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.87 billion
Expenditures: $3.1 billion
Note: Palestinian Authority includes Gaza Strip (2010)
Surplus or deficit: -18.5% of GDP (2010)
Surplus or deficit rank: 207

Taxes and other revenues: 28.2% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 104

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (2009 est.)
Rank: 166
Note: includes Gaza Strip

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 7.3% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 136

Stock of narrow money: $190 million (31 December 2007)
Rank: 174

Stock of broad money: $6.238 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 114

Stock of domestic credit: $1.475 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 144

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 92

Current account balance

Exports: $339 million (2006)
Rank: 166
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Commodities: stone olives fruit vegetables limestone

Imports: $2.84 billion (2006)
Rank: 129
Commodities: food consumer goods construction materials petroleum chemicals

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $1.3 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 150

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 400 million kWh
Production rank: 163
Production note: most imported electricity is from Israel; Jerusalem District Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in east Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities (2008 est.)
Consumption: 3.572 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 123
Exports: 0 kWh (2009)
Imports: 3.2 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 142
Consumption: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 142
Exports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 204
Imports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 202
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 204

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 337,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 111
Mobile cellular: 2.405 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 131

Telephone system
General assessment: continuing political and economic instability has impeded significant liberalization of the telecommunications industry
Domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; PALTEL plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Jordan to route domestic mobile calls; the Palestinian JAWWAL company and WATANIYA PALESTINE provide cellular services
International: country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2009) (2009)

Broadcast media: the Palestinian Authority operates 1 television and 1 radio station; about 30 independent TV and 25 radio stations operating; Jordanian TV is available; satellite TV is accessible (2008)

Internet
Country code: .ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Users: 1.379 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2009)
Users rank: 88

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: NA

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: 2 (2010)
Rank: 209
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 5,147 km
Rank: 153
Paved: 5,147 km
Note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: The current status of the West Bank is 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 withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)

Illicit drugs