Background: The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP) signed in Washington on 13 September 1993 provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996 as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israel's military response and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement.

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N 35 15 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 5,860 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
Water: 220 km²
Land: 5,640 km²
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 1,022 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use
Arable land: NEGL%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)

Population
Note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 3.3% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 60% (2002 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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 17.9 years
Male: 17.7 years
Female: 18 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 3.3% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 34.07 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 4.16 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.07 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Environment
Current issues: adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male/female
Total population: 1.04 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 20.68 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 18.37 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 22.86 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.68 years
Male: 70.95 years
Female: 74.51 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA%
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: NA%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

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

Economy overview: Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and in 1998 Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001 and even more severely in 2002 Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure widespread business closures and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy.

Real gdp growth rate: -22% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9%
Industry: 28%
Services: 63%
Note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: olives citrus vegetables; beef dairy products

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement textiles soap olive-wood carvings and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: NA
By occupation services: 66%
By occupation industry: 21%
By occupation agriculture: 13% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: 60% (2002 est.)

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

Budget
Revenues: $930 million
Note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
Expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Exports: $603 million f.o.b. includes Gaza Strip
Commodities: olives fruit vegetables limestone
Partners: Israel Jordan Gaza Strip (2000)

Imports: $1.9 billion c.i.f. includes Gaza Strip
Commodities: food consumer goods construction materials
Partners: Israel Jordan Gaza Strip (2000)

Debt external: $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002) 4.2057 (2001) 4.0773 (2000) 4.1397 (1999) 3.8001 (1998) 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)

Electricity
Production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem 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; some Palestinian municipalities such as Nablus and Janin generate their own electricity from small power plants
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0%
Consumption: NA kWh
Imports: NA kWh

Telephones
Main lines in use: 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)
Mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system
General assessment: NA
Domestic: NA
Note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
International: NA

Internet
Service providers isps: 8 (1999)
Users: 60,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2001)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 3 (2002)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Railways: 0 km

Waterways: none

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