Background: From the early 16th century through 1917 the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I the Allied powers (France UK Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967 Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian border zone the West Bank remained under Israeli military control until Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. In early 2003 the 'Quartet' of the US EU UN and Russia presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005 calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as PA president Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements but continues to control maritime airspace and other access. In early 2006 the Islamic Resistance Movement HAMAS won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation most recently signing an agreement in April 2014 following the collapse of US-brokered peace talks with Israel. The factions however have been unable to implement details on governance and security and the status quo remains with HAMAS in de facto control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank.

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N 35 15 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 5,860 km²
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
Rank: 172
Comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries
Total: 478 km
Border countries: (2) Israel 330 km; Jordan 148 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 in west flat plains descending to Jordan River valley to the east

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

Natural resources: arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.3%
Forest: 1.5%
Other: 55.2%
Note: includes Gaza Strip

Irrigated land: 240 km²; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Natural hazards: droughts

Geography
Note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 381 Israeli civilian sites including about 212 settlements and 134 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 35 sites in East Jerusalem (2014 est.)

Population: 2,785,366 (represents Palestinian population only) (July 2014 est.)
Note: approximately 356,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank; approximately 200,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 142
Growth rate: 1.95% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 51
Below poverty line: 18% (2011 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 80.0 - 85.0% (predominantly Sunni) Jewish 12.0 - 14.0% Christian 1.0 - 2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox) other unaffiliated unspecified 1.0%
Note: the proportion of Christians continues to fall mainly as a result of the growth of the Muslim population but also because of the migration and the declining birth rate of the Christian population

Age structure
0-14 years: 33.09%
15-24 years: 21.52%
25-54 years: 36.96%
55-64 years: 4.57%
65 years and over: 3.85% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 76%
Youth dependency ratio: 70.8%
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.2%
Potential support ratio: 19.2% data represents the Gaza and the West Bank

Median age
Total: 22.7 years
Male: 22.6 years
Female: 22.9 years

Population growth rate: 1.95% (2015 est.)
Rank: 51

Birth rate: 22.99 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 67

Death rate: 3.5 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 216

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 111

Urbanization
Urban population: 75.3% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.81% annual rate of change
Note: data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank

Environment
Current issues: adequacy of freshwater supply; sewage treatment

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male/female
25-54 years: 1.06 male/female
55-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male/female
Total population: 1.04 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.08 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 14.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.37 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 115

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.91 years
Male: 73.79 years
Female: 78.17 years
Rank: 92

Total fertility rate: 2.76 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 66

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 52.5% (includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank) (2010)

Drinking water source:
Note: includes Gaza and the West Bank

Physicians density: 1.3 physicians/1000 population (2013)

Hospital bed density: 1.2 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:
Note: includes Gaza and the West Bank

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

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96.5%
Male: 98.4%
Female: 94.5%
Notes: estimates are for the Palestinian Territories

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 14 years
Note: data represents Gaza and West Bank

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

Economy overview: Economic growth in the West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - has slowed since 2013 in part because of a decline in donor aid and government spending. Private sector development has been weak. Despite the Palestinian Authority's (PA) successful implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli government Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows industrial capacity and basic commerce constraining the productive capacity of the West Bank economy. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' inability to access land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas import and export restrictions and a high-cost capital structure. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and economic activity.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2011 US dollars; includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 141

Real gdp growth rate:
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 195

Real gdp per capita:
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 169

Gross national saving:
Rank: 178

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 86.6%
Government consumption: 26.6%
Investment in fixed capital: 25.3%
Investment in inventories: 1.8%
Exports of goods and services: 20.4%
Imports of goods and services: -60.7%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.9%
Industry: 23.6%
Services: 73.5%
Note: includes Gaza Strip

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: 1.5% (2014 est.)
Rank: 143

Labor force: 1.066 million (2014 est.)
Rank: 142
By occupation agriculture: 11.5%
By occupation industry: 34.4%
By occupation services: 54.1%
By occupation note: includes Gaza Strip

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 150

Population below poverty line: 18% (2011 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.2%
Highest 10: 28.2%
Note: includes Gaza Strip

Distribution of family income gini index: 34.5 (2009 est.)
Note: includes Gaza Strip

Budget
Revenues: $2.742 billion
Expenditures: $4.279 billion
Note: includes Palestinian Authority expenditures in the Gaza Strip
Surplus or deficit: -23.1% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 212

Taxes and other revenues: 41.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 33

Public debt:
Rank: 92

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 88

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 119

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 173

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 146

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 151

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 97

Current account balance:
Rank: 154

Exports:
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 143
Commodities: stone olives fruit vegetables limestone

Imports:
Note: data include the Gaza Strip
Rank: 112
Commodities: food consumer goods construction materials petroleum chemicals

Debt external:
Note: data include the Gaza Strip
Rank: 161

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 535 million kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 162
Consumption: 5.12 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 113
Exports: 0 kWh (2013)
Exports rank: 213
Imports: 4.909 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 42
Installed generating capacity: 140,000 kW
Installed generating capacity note: includes Gaza Strip
Installed generating capacity rank: 167
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 40
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 205
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 209
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 141

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 143
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 205
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 142
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 207

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 208
Products consumption: 23,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 125
Products exports: 514.8 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 112
Products imports: 16,330 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 112

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Production rank: 208
Consumption: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 208
Exports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 207
Imports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 78
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 207

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 3.008 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 142

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 400,000
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15
Fixed lines rank: 104
Mobile cellular total: 3.2 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 117 (2014 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 135

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

Broadcast media: the Palestinian Authority operates 1 TV and 1 radio station; about 20 private TV and 40 radio stations; both Jordanian TV and satellite TV are accessible (2013)

Internet
Country code: .ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Users total: 1.4 million
Users percent of population: 34.4%
Users rank: 112

Airports: 2 (2013)
Rank: 203
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Roadways
Total: 4,686 km
Paved: 4,686 km
Note: includes Gaza Strip
Rank: 154

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 Gaza and 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: 762,288 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2014)
IDPs: at least 263,500 (2015)