Legend:
 Definition
 Field
Listing
 Rank
Order
|
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. 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.
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. The election of HAMAS
in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council
froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian
Authority. Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006;
following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July
2006, he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of
the West Bank. The kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by
Lebanese Hizballah led to a 34-day conflict in Lebanon in
June-August 2006. |
|
Location:
|
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
and Lebanon |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
31 30 N, 34 45 E
|
|
Map references:
|
Middle East |
|
Area:
|
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km
water: 440 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than New Jersey |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,017 km
border countries: 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
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:
|
1,940 sq km (2003)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts;
periodic earthquakes |
|
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 |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
|
|
Geography - note:
|
there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use
sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem
(August 2005 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important
freshwater source
|
|
Population:
|
6,426,679
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 2007
est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 858,246/female 818,690)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 2,076,649/female 2,046,343)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 269,483/female 357,268)
(2007 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 29.9 years
male: 29.1 years
female: 30.8 years (2007 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate:
|
1.154% (2007 est.)
|
|
Birth rate:
|
17.71 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.015 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.754 male(s)/female
total population: 0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 6.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 79.59 years
male: 77.44 years
female: 81.85 years (2007 est.)
|
|
Total fertility rate:
|
2.38 children born/woman (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
3,000 (1999 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
100 (2001 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Israeli(s)
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) |
|
Religions:
|
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other
Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004) |
|
Languages:
|
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority,
English most commonly used foreign language |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9% (2004 est.)
|
|
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
(since May 2006); Ehud OLMERT won the right to lead the
government when his Kadima Party won 29 seats in elections
held on 28 March 2006
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 (no term
limits); 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), Shas,and Yisrael Beiteinu
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:
|
unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to
be held in 2010)
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:
|
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad
BARAKA]; GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael EITAN]; Kadima [Ehud
OLMERT]; Labor Party [Ehud BARAK]; The Likud Party [Binyamin
NETANYAHU]; Meretz-YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; National Democratic
Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Union
(NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON]; SHAS
[Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah and Shabbat Judaism [Yaakov
LITZMAN]; United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSOUR]; Yisrael
Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the
West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER,
Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha Council of Settlements
[Bentzi LIEBERMAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and
opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human
rights abuses |
|
International organization participation:
|
BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA,
OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Salai MERIDOR
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San
Francisco |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903
mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830
telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575
FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390
consulate(s) 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, 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 rebounded in 2003-05, growing at a 4% to
5.2% rate each year, as the government tightened fiscal
policy and implemented structural reforms to boost
competition and efficiency in the markets. The conflict with
Lebanon in summer 2006 slightly dampened GDP growth, but
continuing strong foreign investment, tax revenue, and
private consumption levels helped the economy recover
quickly.
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$170.3 billion (2006 est.) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$140.3 billion (2006 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
5.1% (2006 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$26,800 (2006 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 30.3%
services: 67.2% (2006 est.)
|
|
Labor force:
|
2.81 million (2006 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 1.8%, manufacturing
15.7%, construction 5.3%, wholesale and retail trade 12.9%,
transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, finance and
business 16.9%, personal and other services 11.5%, public
services 28.6% (1996)
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
8.3% (30 September 2006) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
21.6% (2005)
|
|
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)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
2.1% (2006 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
17.1% of GDP (2006 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $48.38 billion
expenditures: $49.62 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
84.9% of GDP (2006 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:
|
8.6% (2006 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
46.85 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
43.28 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
1.663 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2005)
|
|
Oil - production:
|
100 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
249,500 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
NA bbl/day |
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA bbl/day |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
2 million bbl (1 January 2005)
|
|
Natural gas - production:
|
709.7 million cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
709.7 million cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2005) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
37.34 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$7.99 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$43.73 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities:
|
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds,
agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 38.4%, Belgium 6.5%, Hong Kong 5.9% (2006) |
|
Imports:
|
$46.96 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
|
raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough
diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
|
Imports - partners:
|
US 12.4%, Belgium 8.2%, Germany 6.7%, Switzerland 5.9%, UK
5.1%, China 5.1% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$240 million from US (FY06) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$29.15 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$83.01 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
$47.39 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
$34.89 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$173.3 billion (2006)
|
|
Currency (code):
|
new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency
abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS |
|
Exchange rates:
|
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877
(2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year
|
|
Airports:
|
53 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 6 (2007)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 20 (2007) |
|
Heliports:
|
3 (2007) |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas 193 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2006) |
|
Railways:
|
total: 853 km
standard gauge: 853 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
|
Roadways:
|
total: 17,446 km
paved: 17,446 km (includes 144 km of expressways)
(2004) |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 716,382 GRT/845,053
DWT
by type: cargo 2, container 16
registered in other countries: 51 (Bermuda 3, Cyprus
4, Honduras 1, North Korea 1, Liberia 9, Malta 21, Panama 2,
Slovakia 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 4) (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals:
|
Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa |
|
Military branches:
|
Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (INF),
Israel Air Force (IAF) (2007) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
17 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 men, 24 months for women, 48
months for officers; reserve obligation to age 41-54 for men
and 24 for women (2007)
|
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males age 17-49: 1,492,125
females age 17-49: 1,443,916 (2005 est.)
|
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males age 17-49: 1,255,902
females age 17-49: 1,212,394 (2005 est.)
|
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males age 18-49: 53,760
females age 15-49: 51,293 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
7.3% (2006) |
|
