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AppenDix: Israel at a Glance
Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E Area: - total: 20,770 sq km - land: 20,330 sq km - water: 440 sq km Land boundaries: total: 1,006 km Border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km Coastline: 273 km Maritime claims: - continental shelf: to depth of exploitation - territorial sea: 12 nm Climate: temperate; hot and dry in desert areas Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley Elevation extremes: - lowest: Dead Sea -408 m - highest: Har Meron 1,208m Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, little natural gas and crude oil Land use: - arable land: 17% - permanent crops: 4% - permanent pastures: 7% - forests and woodland: 6% - other: 66% (1993 est.) Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: sandstorms during spring and summer Environment - current issues: limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial & vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides Environment - international agreements: party to: Bio-diversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Nuclear Test Ban, Hazardous Wastes, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation Geography - note: there are 216 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Golan Heights, 24 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (Aug. 1998 est.)
People
Population: 5,749,760 (July 1999 est.) Note: incl. about 166,000 settlers in the West Bank, 6,000 in Gaza, 19,000 in the Golan, and 176,000 in East Jerusalem (Aug. 1998 est.) Age structure: (in years; 1999 est.) - 0-14: 28% (m: 822,192; f: 783,905) - 15-64: 62% (m: 1,792,062; f: 1,783,755) - 65 +years: 10% (m: 244,438; f: 323,408) Population growth rate: 1.81% Birth rate: 19.83 births/1,000 pop. Death rate: 6.16 deaths/1,000 pop. Net migration: 4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 pop Sex ratio: - at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female - under 15 yrs: 1.05 male(s)/female - 15-64 yrs: 1 male(s)/female - 65+ yrs: 0.76 male(s)/female - total pop.: 0.99 male(s)/female Infant mortality rate: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: - total pop: 78.61 years - male: 76.71 years - female: 80.61 years Total fertility rate: 2.68 children born/woman Nationality: noun: Israeli(s); adjective: Israeli Ethnic groups: Jewish 80.1% (Europe/US-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) Religions: Judaism 80.1%, Islam 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language Literacy: (age 15+ able to read and write) - total population: 95% - male: 97% - female: 93% (1992 est.)
Government
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: republic Capital: 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: six districts (mehozot): Central, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem Independence: 14 May 1948 (from British Mandate) National holiday: Independence, 14 May 1948; (since the Jewish calendar is lunar 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, and the Israeli citizenship law Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian and Muslim legal systems; in Dec. 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 Ezer WEIZMAN elected by the Knesset for a 5-year term; - head of govt.: Prime Minister Ehud BARAK elected by popular vote for a 4-year term - cabinet: selected from and approved by the Knesset Legislative branch: unicameral parliament (Knesset) with 120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms Judicial branch: Supreme Court, appointed for life by the president International organization participation: BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (obs.), CERN (obs.), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, In-marsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (obs.), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO 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: Technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation; 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 and is largely self-sufficient in food production. Diamonds, high-technology equipment and agricultural products are leading exports. Current account deficits 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 influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR added scientific and professional expertise of substantial value, which, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy. GDP: (1998 est.) - purchasing power parity - $101.9 billion - real growth rate: 1.9% - per capita: ppp - $18,100 - composition by sector: agriculture: 2% industry: 17% services: 81% (1997 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: - lowest 10%: 2.8% - highest 10%: 26.9% (1992) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1998 est.) Labor force: 2.3 million (1997) - by occupation: public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal & other services 6.4%, transport, storage & communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry & fishing 2.6% (1996) Unemployment rate: 8.7% (1998 est.) Budget: - revenues: $55 billion - expenditures: $58 billion Industries: food processing, diamond cutting/ polishing, textiles and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military/transport/electrical equipment, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism Industrial production growth rate: 5.4% (1996) Electricity: -production: 28.035 bill kWh (1996) -consumption: 27.725 bill kWh (1996) Agriculture: products: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products Exports: - $22.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998) - commodities: machinery, equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals, metals, agricultural products, textiles and apparel - partners: US 32%, UK, Hong Kong, Benelux, Japan, Netherlands (1997) Imports: - $26.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998) - commodities: raw materials, investment goods, military equipment, oil, rough diamonds, consumer goods - partners: US 19%, Benelux 12%, Germany 9%, UK 8%, Italy 7%, Switzerland 6% (1997) Debt—external: $18.7 billion (1997) Economic aid—recipient: $1.241 billion (1994); [note: $1.2 billion from the US in 1997]. Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 agorot Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 Jan. 1992)
Communications
Telephones: 2.6 million (1996) Radios: 2.25 million (1993 est.) TV broadcast stations: 24 (in addition, there a31 low-power repeaters - 1997) Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 610 km Highways: total: 15,464 km (1997 est.) Pipelines: crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km Ports and harbors: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Eilat, Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv/Jaffa Merchant marine: - total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 736,419 GRT/855,497 DWT - ships by type: cargo 1, container 21, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1998 est.) Airports: 54 (1998 est.) - with paved runways: total: 31 Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Israel Defense Forces (air, ground, naval), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women) Military manpower: - military age: 18 years of age - availability: males age 15-49: 1,474,046 females age 15-49: 1,439,569 - fit for service: males (15-49): 1,206,320 females (15-49): 1,173,818 - reaching military age annually: m: 50,737 f: 48,546 Military expenditures: $8.7 billion (9.5% of GDP)
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