Israel

republic

Israel as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 70 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.

CapitalIsrael proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv

Area20,770 km2

Populationas each edition published it

4.48 million July 1991 · 4.41m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 3.08% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 28.9 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 77.77 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.9 children per woman 1991 · 2.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 9 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $12,100 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 6.4% in 1993

Geography

11 fields

Total area

20,770km2

land area: 20,330 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries

1,006km total

Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307, Gaza Strip 51 km

Coastline

273 km Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation; Territorial sea: 6 nm

Disputes

separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line;
differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries;
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined;
Golan Heights is Israeli occupied;
Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982;
water-sharing issues with Jordan

Terrain

Negev desert in the south;
low coastal plain;
central mountains;
Jordan Rift Valley

Natural resources

copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land use

arable land 17%;
permanent crops 5%;
meadows and pastures 40%;
forest and woodland 6%;
other 32%;
includes irrigated 11%

Environment

sandstorms may occur during spring and summer;
limited arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints;
deforestation

Note

there are 175 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 38 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem

People

14 fields

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

21Death

6Net migration

Religion

Judaism 82%Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim) 14%Christian 2%Druze and other 2%

Literacy

92%

(male 95%, female 89%) age 15 and over can read and write (1983)

Population

4,477,105 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991);
includes 90,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 13,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 2,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 120,000 in East Jerusalem (1990 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Jewish 83%, non-Jewish (mostly Arab) 17%

Language

Hebrew (official);
Arabic used officially for Arab minority;
English most commonly used foreign language

Labor force

1,400,000 (1984 est.);
public services 29.3%;
industry, mining, and manufacturing 22.8%;
commerce 12.8%;
finance and business 9.5%;
transport, storage, and communications 6.8%;
construction and public works 6.5%;
personal and other services 5.8%;
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.5%;
electricity and water 1.0% (1983)

Government

Republic

18 fields

Legislature, 115 seatsone dot, one seat

-(120 total) Labor Party 38Likud bloc 37SHAS 5Citizens' Rights Movement 5Agudat Yisrael 4PAZI 3MAKI 3Tehiya Party 3MAPAM 3Tzomet Party 2Moledet Party 2Degel HaTorah 2Center Movement-Shinui 2Progressive List for Peace 1Arab Democratic Party 1Black Panthers 1Moriya 1Ge'ulat Yisrael 1Unity for Peace and Aliyah 1

Long-form name

State of Israel

Type

republic

Capital

Israel proclaimed Jerusalem 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)

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

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 10 May 1989; Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May

Executive branch

president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

unicameral parliament (Knesset)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Chaim HERZOG (since 5 May 1983); Head of Government--Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR (since 20 October 1986)

Political parties and leaders

Israel currently has a coalition government comprising eleven parties that hold 66 of the Knesset's 120 seats;
Members of the government--Likud bloc, Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR;
Sephardic Torah Guardians (SHAS), Minister of Interior Arieh DER'I;
National Religious Party, Minister of Education Zevulun HAMMER;
Agudat Yisrael, Moshe Zeev FELDMAN;
Degel HaTorah, Avraham RAVITZ;
Moriya, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Yitzhak PERETZ;
Ge'vlat Yisrael, Elizer MIZRAHI;
Party for the Advancement of Zionist Ideology (PAZI), Minister of Finance Yitzhak MODAI;
Tehiya Party, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy, and Infrastructure Yuval NE'EMAN;
Tzomet Party, Minister of Agriculture Rafael EITAN;
Unity for Peace and Aliyah, Efrayim GUR;
Moledet Party, Rehavam ZE'EVI;
Opposition parties--Labor Party, Shimon PERES;
Citizens' Rights Movement, Shulamit ALONI;
United Workers' Party (MAPAM), Yair TZABAN;
Center Movement-Shinui, Amnon RUBENSTEIN;
New Israeli Communist Party (MAKI), Meir WILNER;
Progressive List for Peace, Muhammad MI'ARI;
Arab Democratic Party, Abd Al Wahab DARAWSHAH;
Black Panthers, Charlie BITON

Suffrage

universal at age 18 President--last held 23 February 1988 (next to be held February 1994);
results--Chaim HERZOG reelected by Knesset;
Knesset--last held 1 November 1988 (next to be held by November 1992);
seats--(120 total) Labor Party 38, Likud bloc 37, SHAS 5, National Religious Party 5, Citizens' Rights Movement 5, Agudat Yisrael 4, PAZI 3, MAKI 3, Tehiya Party 3, MAPAM 3, Tzomet Party 2, Moledet Party 2, Degel HaTorah 2, Center Movement-Shinui 2, Progressive List for Peace 1, Arab Democratic Party 1;
Black Panthers 1, Moriya 1, Ge'ulat Yisrael 1, Unity for Peace and Aliyah 1

Communists

Hadash (predominantly Arab but with Jews in its leadership) has some 1,500 members

Other political or pressure groups

Gush Emunim, Jewish nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
Peace Now, critical of government's West Bank/Gaza Strip and Lebanon policies

Member of

AG (observer), CCC, EBRD, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Zalman SHOVAL;
Chancery at 3514 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 364-5500;
there are Israeli Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador William A. BROWN;
Embassy at 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv (mailing address is APO New York 09672);
telephone [972] (3) 654338;
there is a US Consulate General in Jerusalem

Flag

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

Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation.

16 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

18%

(1990)

Unemployment rate

9.8%

(March 1991)

External debt

$24.5billion

of which government debt is $18 billion (December 1990)

Budget

Revenues

$28.7 billionExpenditures

$33.0 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91)

Overview

Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports for crude oil, food, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has developed its agricultural and industrial sectors on an intensive scale over the past 20 years.

Industry accounts for about 23% of the labor force, agriculture for 5%, and services for most of the balance. Diamonds, high-technology machinery, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the biggest export earners. The balance of payments has traditionally been negative, but is offset by large transfer payments and foreign loans.

About half of Israel's $18 billion external government debt is owed to the US, which is its major source for economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel must continue to exploit high-technology niches in the international market, such as medical scanning equipment.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August dealt a blow to Israel's economy in 1990. Higher world oil prices added an estimated $300 million to Israel's 1990 oil import bill, and helped keep the inflation rate at 18% for the year. Regional tensions and continuing acts of the Palestinian uprising (intifadah)-related violence contributed to a sharp dropoff in tourism--a key source of foreign exchange--to the lowest level since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

In 1991, the influx of up to 400,000 Soviet immigrants will increase unemployment, intensify the country's housing crisis, and contribute to a widening budget deficit.

GNP

$46.5 billion, per capita $10,500; real growth rate 3.5% (1990 est.)

Exports

$10.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--polished diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed foods, fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics;
partners--US, UK, FRG, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy

Imports

$14.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--military equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and steel, cereals, textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft;
partners--US, FRG, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg

Industrial production

growth rate - 1.5% (1989); accounts for about 40% of GDP

Electricity

4,392,000 kW capacity; 17,500 million kWh produced, 4,000 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment, electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism

Agriculture

accounts for 5% of GNP;
largely self-sufficient in food production, except for bread grains;
principal products--citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton;
livestock products--beef, dairy, and poultry

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $2.5 billion

Currency

new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels); 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--2.35 (May 1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March; changing to calender year basis starting January 1992

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 30 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 7container 21refrigerated cargo; note--Israel also maintains a significant flag of convenience fleet, which is normally at least as large as the Israeli flag fleet; the Israeli flag of convenience fleet typically includes all of its POL tankers 230 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 516,714 GRT/611,795 DWT

Airports, 51 total, 44 usable

permanent-surface runways

26runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

6runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

4,500Railroads

594

Highways: ; majority is bituminous surfaced · Railroads: , single track; diesel operated