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Israel
Physical. Israel is located in the Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea with Lebanon to the north, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to
the south and west. It covers an area slightly smaller than New Jersey. The
climate is temperate with hot and dry conditions in the southern and eastern
desert areas. Israel's terrain consists of the Negev desert in the south, low
coastal plains, central mountains, and the Jordan Rift Valley. Natural resources
include timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium
bromide, clays and sand.
People. Israel is home to over 6.3 million inhabitants (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 2006 est.) Israel
recognizes Hebrew as its official language while Arabic is officially used by
the Arab minority and English is the most commonly used foreign language.
Ethnically, the population is composed of citizens who are Jewish (80%) and
non-Jewish (20% mostly Arab). Major religions are: Judaism (77%), Islam (16%
mostly Sunni Muslim), Arab Christian (2%) and Druze (2%).
Government. The country is officially known as the State of Israel and
it has six districts. Its capital is Jerusalem. After World War II, the League
of Nations partitioned the Palestinian area. Israel has no formal constitution,
but is governed under the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of
the parliament (Knesset) and the Israeli citizenship law. The president is
elected by the Knesset for a five-year term, while the prime minister is elected
by popular vote to a four-year term. On May 14, 1948, Israel celebrated its
establishment, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs in that area and followed by
several wars that have not eased tensions. Various peace accords and treaties
have seen much of the land acquired by Israel in its wars returned. In 2005 a
governing coalition was formed by the Likud, Labor and United Torah Judaism
parties, but the internal political situation in Israel prohibits any further
peace accords.
Economy. Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with
substantial 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 is largely self-sufficient in food production except
for grains. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products
(fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable
current account 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
influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99
coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized
Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began
moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary
policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 6.4% in
2000. But the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the increasing declines in
the high-technology and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity measures in the
face of growing inflation have led to declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. In 2005,
rising consumer confidence, tourism, and foreign direct investment - as well as
higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 4.7%.
Areas of Concern. Limited freshwater resources and arable land as well
as air and water pollution are the country's largest environmental concerns.
Israeli/Palestinian conflict continues to be a source of violence and
uncertainty in this area.
For more information on Israel, you may write to the chancery at 3514
International Drive NW, Washington DC, 20008; check the U.S. State Department or
World Factbook country sites; or type in the country's name on the Internet
using a broad-based World Wide Web search engine.
Israel statistics
Geography
Area: 20,770 sq km
Capital: Jerusalem; (with the 2004 population estimated at 704,900) Note: Israel
proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other
countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Environmental concerns: limited arable land and natural fresh water resources;
desertification; air pollution and groundwater pollution
Geographical features: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central
mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Climate: temperate with hot, dry desert areas in the south and east
People
6,352,000 (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 2006 est.) Jewish (80% - Europe/America-born 32%, Israel-born
21%, Africa-born 15%, Asia-born 13%); non-Jewish 20% (mostly Arab), (1996 est.)
Annual growth rate: 1.18% (2006 est.)
Major languages are Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority,
with English the most commonly used foreign language.
Religions: Jewish (77%), Muslim (16%), Arab Christians (2%), Druze (2%),
unspecified (4%)
Health and social issues
Life expectancies: male 77; female 82
Infant mortality: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births
Population below the poverty line: 21% (2005)
1 physicians for 206 people (2004)
HIV/AIDS Rate in Adults: 0.1% (2001 est.)
95.4% of adults were literate in 2003
Compulsory education (Ages): 5-16 years; free (2004)
Communication and transportation
3 million (2004) main telephone lines in use
3.2 million (2005) Internet users
17,237 km of roadways
640 km railroads
51 (2005) airfields
1.5 million motor vehicles (2004)
Government
Israel is a parliamentary democracy.
The chief of state is President Moshe Katzav (since July 2000) while the head of
government is the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (since May 2006.
Universal suffrage at 18
Military
Military expenditures as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is
7.7% (2005 est.).
Current disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current
status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement. The permanent
status is 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).
Economy
Currency: New Israeli shekel
Per capita GDP: $24,600 (2005 est.)
GDP: $154.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 5.2% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate: 1.3% (2005 est.)
Labor force: agriculture, forestry, and fishing (2.6%), manufacturing (20.2%),
construction (7.5%), commerce (12.8%), transport, storage, and communications
(6.2%), finance and business (13.1%), personal and other services (6.4%), public
services (31.2%) (1996)
Resources and industry
Natural resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock,
magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Industry: 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
Exports: $40.14 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports: $43.19 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Suggested web sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html
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