Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

Position31 25 N, 34 20 E
Area360 sq km
LocationMiddle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
Populationas each edition published it
987,869 people July 1997 est. · 615,575 in 1990
Population growth% a year
6.59% 1997 est. · 3.56% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 15.3 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 67.26 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
7.68 children per woman 1997 est. · 7 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
26 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 55 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,100 1996 est. · $590 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
-1% 1996 est. · -30% in 1993

Geography

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt | and Israel

18 fields

Land useshare of 360 sq km

arable land 24%permanent crops 39%permanent pastures 0%forests and woodland 11%other 26% (1993 est.)irrigated 120 sq km (1993 est.)
Area
360sq km
land: 360 sq kmwater: 0 sq kmslightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Coastline
40km
Maritime claims: Israeli occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Highest point
105m
Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda)lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Land boundaries
62km
border countries : Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Location

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates

31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references

Middle East

Climate

temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Environment - current issues

desertification; salination of fresh water

Environment - international agreements

party to :
none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

there are 24 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1996 est.)

People

15 fields
Population
987,869
(July 1997 est.)note: in addition, there are 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 1996 est.)growth rate: 6.59% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth
49.85Death
4.2Net migration
20.25

Religions

Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%Christian 0.7%Jewish 0.6%

Age structure

0-14 years:
51% (male 261,014; female 248,236)
15-64 years:
46% (male 225,707; female 224,483)
65 years and over:
3% (male 12,281; female 16,148) (July 1997 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1 male(s)/female 65 years and over : 0.76 male(s)/female
total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

26 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population :
72.46 years
male:
71.12 years
female :
73.87 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

7.68 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun:
NA
adjective:
NA

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Government

2 fields

Country name

conventional long form :
none
conventional short form:
Gaza Strip
local long form:
none
local short form:
Qita Ghazzah

Economy

Economic progress in the Gaza Strip has been | hampered by tight Israeli security restrictions.

22 fields
Real growth rate
-1%
to -2% (1996 est.)industrial production growth: NA%
Unemployment rate
35%
to 40% (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture 33%industry 25%services 42% (1995 est., includes West Bank)

Budget

Revenues
$684 millionExpenditures
$779 million (1996)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes West Bank

Economy - overview

Economic progress in the Gaza Strip has been hampered by tight Israeli security restrictions. In 1991 roughly 40% of Gaza Strip workers were employed across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and agricultural enterprises, with worker remittances supplementing GDP by roughly 50%. Gaza has depended upon Israel for nearly 90% of its external trade.

The Persian Gulf crisis and its aftershocks has dealt blows to Gaza since August 1990. Worker remittances from the Gulf states have dropped, unemployment and popular unrest have increased, and living standards have fallen. The withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip in May 1994 has added to the set of adjustment problems.

This series of disruptions has meant a sharp decline in employment in Israel since 1991 and a drop in GDP as a whole. An estimated 378,000 persons were in refugee camps in 1996.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,100 (1996 est.)

Labor force

NA; by occupation: construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7% (1991) note: excluding Israeli settlers

Industries

  • generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs;
  • the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center

Electricity - capacity

NA kW note: electricity supplied by Israel

Electricity - production

NA kWh note : electricity supplied by Israel

Agriculture - products

olives, citrus, other fruits, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Exports

total value:
$235 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) (includes West Bank)
commodities:
citrus
partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Imports

total value :
$1.55 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.) (includes West Bank)
commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials
partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.41 (May 1997), 3.2882 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992)

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Communications

6 fields

Telephones

NA note: 3.1% of Palestinian households have telephones

Telephone system

domestic :
NA
international:
NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

NA; note - 95% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)

Televisions

NA; note - 59% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m
1

Railways

total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains

Highways

total :
NA km
paved:
NA km
unpaved:
NA km

note: small, poorly developed road network

Airports

1 (1996 est.) note: new international airport under construction and scheduled to open in June 1997

Military

NA

5 fields

Transnational Issues

1 field

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 GEORGIA

Introduction

1 field

Current issues

Beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence in 1991, Georgia began to stabilize in 1994. Separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been dormant since spring 1994, although political settlements remain elusive. Russian peacekeepers are deployed in both regions and a UN Observer Mission is operating in Abkhazia.

As a result of these conflicts, Georgia still has about 250,000 internally displaced people. In 1995, Georgia adopted a new constitution and conducted generally free and fair nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections. In 1996, the government focused its attention to implementing an ambitious economic reform program and professionalizing its parliament. Violence and organized crime were sharply curtailed in 1995 and 1996, but corruption remains rife.

Cite this entry

Central Intelligence Agency. “Gaza Strip.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/gaza-strip/1997.