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 Israel occupied 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. 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. 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 April 2003 US President BUSH working in conjunction with the EU UN and Russia - the 'Quartet' - took the lead in laying out 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. However progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. An Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005 along with an internally-brokered Palestinian ceasefire significantly reduced the violence. In the summer of 2005 Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006; following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July 2006 and a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of the West Bank. OLMERT in June 2007 resumed talks with the PA after HAMAS seized control of the Gaza Strip and PA President Mahmoud ABBAS formed a new government without HAMAS.

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: 15.45%
Permanent crops: 3.88%
Other: 80.67% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1940 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 1.7 km³ (2001)

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

Geography
Note: there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights 0 in the Gaza Strip and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source

Population
Note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 1.713% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Israeli
Adjective: Israeli

Ethnic groups: Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1% Europe/America-born 22.6% Africa-born 5.9% Asia-born 4.2%) non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)

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

Religions: Jewish 76.4% Muslim 16% Arab Christians 1.7% other Christian 0.4% Druze 1.6% unspecified 3.9% (2004)

Age structure
0-14 years: 28% (male 1,018,229/female 971,083)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,242,928/female 2,183,688)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 303,289/female 393,142) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 28.9 years
Male: 28.2 years
Female: 29.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.713% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 20.02 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 5.41 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.28 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.43 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.12 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.61 years
Male: 78.54 years
Female: 82.79 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.77 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 3,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Education expenditures: 6.9% of GDP (2004)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.1%
Male: 98.5%
Female: 95.9% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years (2006)

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
Name: Jerusalem
Geographic coordinates: 31 46 N, 35 14 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
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

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; note - since May 2003 the Constitution Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
Head of government: Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Tzipora 'Tzipi' LIVNI; note - Prime Minister OLMERT resigned on 17 September 2008, but will serve as acting prime minister until a new government is formed
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 (one-term limit); election last held 13 June 2007 (next to be held in 2014 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition
Note: government coalition - Kadima, Labor Party, GIL (Pensioners), and SHAS
Election results: Shimon PERES elected president; number of votes in first round - Shimon PERES 58, Reuven RIVLIN 37, Colette AVITAL 21; PERES elected president in second round with 86 votes (unopposed)

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in February 2009)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Kadima 22%, Labor 15.1%, SHAS 9.5%, Likud 9%, Yisrael Beiteinu 9%, NU/NRP 7.1%, GIL 5.9%, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 4.7%, Meretz-YAHAD 3.8%, United Arab List 3%, Balad 2.3%, HADASH 2.7%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Kadima 29, Labor 19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3, HADASH 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)

Political parties and leaders: Balad [Azmi BISHARA]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKEH]; GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael 'Rafi' EITAN]; Kadima [Tzipora 'Tzipi' LIVNI]; Labor Party [Ehud BARAK]; Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU]; Meretz-Yachad [Haim ORON]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Jamal ZAHALKA]; National Union (NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON]; SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah and Shabbat Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN]; United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSUR]; Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]

International organization participation: BIS BSEC (observer) CERN (observer) EBRD FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC MIGA OAS (observer) OPCW (signatory) OSCE (partner) PCA SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Salai MERIDOR
In the us chancery: 3,514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-5,500
In the us fax: [1] (202) 364-5,607
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James B. CUNNINGHAM
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) 519-7,575
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

Economy overview: Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial though diminishing 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 trade 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 its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector has grown by about 5% per year since 2003. The economy grew an estimated 5.4% in 2007 the fastest pace since 2000. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment tax revenues and private consumption setting the economy on a solid growth path.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $185.8 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.3% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $26,600 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.7%
Industry: 30.2%
Services: 67.1% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: citrus vegetables cotton; beef poultry dairy products

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 footwear

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 2.894 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 18.5%
By occupation industry: 23.7%
By occupation services: 50%
By occupation other: 7.8% (2002)

Unemployment rate: 7.3% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.4%
Highest 10: 28.3% (2005)

Distribution of family income gini index: 38.6 (2005)

Budget
Revenues: $53.6 billion
Expenditures: $53.63 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 80.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.5% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 4% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 6.27% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $113.4 billion (31 December 2006)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $173.3 billion (2006)

Current account balance: $5.197 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $50.37 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment software cut diamonds agricultural products chemicals textiles and apparel
Partners: US 35% Belgium 7.5% Hong Kong 5.8% (2007)

Imports: $55.79 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: raw materials military equipment investment goods rough diamonds fuels grain consumer goods
Partners: US 13.9% Belgium 7.9% Germany 6.2% China 6.1% Switzerland 5.1% UK 4.7% Italy 4.1% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $28.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $89.95 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $57.97 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $41.96 billion (2007 est.)

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 4.14 (2007) 4.4565 (2006) 4.4877 (2005) 4.482 (2004) 4.5541 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 48.7 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 44.74 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 1.844 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 970 million m³ (2006 est.)
Consumption: 970 million m³ (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 30.44 billion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.005 million (2006)
Mobile cellular: 8.902 million (2007)

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; four privately-owned mobile-cellular service providers with countrywide coverage; mobile-cellular teledensity is 140 per 100 persons
International: country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2007)

Internet
Country code: .il
Hosts: 1.415 million (2008)
Users: 2 million (2007)

Military expenditures: 7.3% of GDP (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews Druzes) and voluntary (Christians Muslims Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men 21 months for enlisted women 48 months for officers; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men) 24 (women)

Airports: 53 (2007)
With paved runways total: 30
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 7
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With paved runways under 914 m: 6 (2007)
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 (2007)

Heliports: 3 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 160 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 853 km
Standard gauge: 853 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 17,870 km
Paved: 17,870 km (includes 146 km of expressways) (2007)

Merchant marine
Total: 11
By type: cargo 2, container 9
Registered in other countries: 60 (Bermuda 3, Cyprus 4, Georgia 2, Honduras 1, Liberia 23, Malta 18, Panama 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Slovakia 4) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Ashdod Elat (Eilat) Hadera Haifa

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 withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2007)

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