Israel

State of IsraelMedinat Yisra'el

republic

Israel as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 77 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.

CapitalJerusalem

Area20,770 km2

LocationMiddle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and

Populationas each edition published it

4.92 million July 1993 est. · 4.41m in 1990

Population growth% a year

3.08% 1993 est. · 1.59% in 2025

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 28.9 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

77.77 years 1993 est. · 83.1 yrs in 2025

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.86 children per woman 1993 est. · 2.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

8.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 9 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$12,100 1992 est. · $47,300 in 2025

GDP real growth% a year

6.4% 1992 est. · 0.9% in 2025

Geography

Middle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and | Lebanon

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Land useshare of 20,770 km2

arable land 17%permanent crops 5%meadows and pastures 40%forest and woodland 6%other 32%irrigated 2,140 km2 (1989)

Area

20,770km2

land area: 20,330 km2comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Coastline

273km

continental shelf: to depth of exploitationterritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

1,006km

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

Location

Middle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon

Map references

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

International 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 that 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

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

Natural resources

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

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

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Population

4,918,946

(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 3.08% (1993 est.)

Note

note: includes 102,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 14,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 4,000 in the Gaza Strip, and 134,000 in East Jerusalem (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth

20.72Death

6.45Net migration

16.51

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years77.77

75.72 · 79.93

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy92%

95% · 89%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1983)

Religions

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

Labor force

1.4million

(1984 est.)

by occupation: 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)

Infant mortality rate

8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Israeli(s)
adjective:: Israeli

Ethnic divisions

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

Languages

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

Government

Republic

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Names

conventional long form:: State of Israel
conventional short form:: Israel
local long form:: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form:: Yisra'el

Digraph

Type

republic

Capital

Jerusalem note: 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, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May)

Political parties and leaders

members of the government:: Labor Party, Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN;
MERETZ, Minister of Education Shulamit ALONI;
SHAS, Minister of Interior Arieh DERI
opposition parties:: Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU;
Tzomet, Rafael EITAN;
National Religious Party, Zevulun HAMMER;
United Torah Jewry, Avraham SHAPIRA;
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID;
Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI;
Arab Democratic Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH

note: Israel currently has a coalition government comprising 3 parties that hold 62 seats of the Knesset's 120 seats

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Elections

President:: last held 24 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Ezer WEIZMAN elected by Knesset
Knesset:: last held June 1992 (next to be held by NA);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (120 total) Labor Party 44, Likud bloc 32, Meretz 12, Tzomet 8, National Religious Party 6, Shas 6, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, Moledet 3, Arab Democratic Party 2

Executive branch

president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

unicameral parliament (Knesset)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State:: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993)
Head of Government:: Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN (since July 1992)

Member of

AG (observer), CCC, CERN (oberver), EBRD, ECE, 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 in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Itamar RABINOVICH
chancery:: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:: (202) 364-5500
consulates general:: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Acting Ambassador William BROWN
embassy:: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address:: APO AE 09830
telephone:: [972] (3) 654338
FAX:: [972] (3) 663449
consulate general:: 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.

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GDP per capita, PPP

$12,100

(1992 est.)

Real growth rate

6.4%

(1992 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 9.4% (1992 est.); accounts for about 20% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

10%

(1992 est.)

Unemployment rate

11%

(1992 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$33.9 billionExpenditures

$36.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $9.3 billion (FY93)

Overview

Israel has a 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.

Industry employs about 20% of Israeli workers, agriculture 5%, and services most of the rest. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts balance-of-payments deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans.

Roughly half of the government's $17 billion external debt is owed to the United States, which is its major source of economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel has been targeting high-technology niches in international markets, such as medical scanning equipment.

The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR, which topped 400,000 during the period 1990-92, has increased unemployment, intensified housing problems, and widened the government budget deficit. At the same time, a considerable number of the immigrants bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $57.4 billion (1992 est.)

Exports

$11.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)

commodities:: polished diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed foods, fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics
partners:: US, EC, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland

Imports

$19.6 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)

commodities:: military equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and steel, cereals, textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft
partners:: US, EC, Switzerland, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Hong Kong

External debt

$25 billion of which government debt is $17 billion (December 1992 est.)

Electricity

5,835,000 kW capacity; 21,840 million kWh produced, 4,600 kWh per capita (1992)

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 about 3% of GDP;
largely self-sufficient in food production, except for grains;
principal products - citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton;
livestock products - beef, dairy, poultry

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.8 billion

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 2.8000 (December 1992), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987)

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Communications

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Merchant marine, 35 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 8container 24refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off; 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 oil tankers 135 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 678,584 GRT/785,220 DWT

Networkskm

Highways

4,750Railroads

600

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

Railroads

600 km 1.435-meter gauge, single track; diesel operated

Highways

4,750 km; majority is bituminous surfaced

Pipelines

crude oil 708 km;
petroleum products 290 km;
natural gas 89 km

Ports

Ashdod, Haifa

Airports

total:: 53
usable:: 46
with permanent-surface runways:: 28
with runways over 3,659 m:: 0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:: 7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:: 12

Telecommunications

most highly developed in the Middle East although not the largest;
good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;
1,800,000 telephones;
broadcast stations - 14 AM, 21 FM, 20 TV;
3 submarine cables;
satellite earth stations - 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT