West Bank

West Bank as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 74 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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Position32 00 N, 35 15 E
Area5,860 sq km
LocationMiddle East, west of Jordan
1997

Every edition of West Bank

Populationas each edition published it
1.5 million July 1997 est. · 1.06m in 1990
Population growth% a year
4.32% 1997 est. · 2.9% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 17.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
72.11 years 1997 est. · 69.93 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
5.06 children per woman 1997 est. · 5 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
27.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 48 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,600 1996 est. · $1,200 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
-1% 1996 est. · -10% in 1993

Geography

Middle East, west of Jordan

18 fields

Land useshare of 5,860 sq km

arable land 27%permanent crops 0%permanent pastures 32%forests and woodland 1%other 40%
Area
5,860sq km
land: 5,640 sq kmwater: 220 sq kmslightly smaller than Delaware
Note
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Highest point
1,022m
Tall Asurlowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
Land boundaries
404km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Location

Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references

Middle East

Climate

temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain

mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

Environment - international agreements

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

Geography - note

  • landlocked;
  • highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers;
  • there are 203 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 26 in East Jerusalem (August 1996 est.)

People

15 fields
Population
1,495,683
(July 1997 est.)note: in addition, there are 136,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and 156,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1996 est.)growth rate: 4.32% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth
37.71Death
4.5Net migration
10.03

Religions

Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni)Jewish 17%Christian and other 8%

Age structure

0-14 years:
46% (male 347,152; female 329,906) 15-64 years : 51% (male 387,847; female 380,629)
65 years and over:
3% (male 21,223; female 28,926) (July 1997 est.)

Sex ratio

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

Infant mortality rate

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
72.11 years
male:
70.43 years
female:
73.88 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.06 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun :
NA
adjective:
NA

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

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:
West Bank

Economy

Economic progress in the West Bank 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 Gaza Strip)

Budget

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

Economy - overview

Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by tight Israeli security restrictions. Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable investment have been discouraged by a lack of local capital and restrictive Israeli policies. Capital investment consists largely of residential housing, not productive assets that would enable local Palestinian firms to compete with Israeli industry.

GDP has been substantially supplemented by remittances of workers employed in Israel. Such transfers from the Persian Gulf states dropped after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, many Palestinians have returned to the West Bank, increasing unemployment, and export revenues have dropped because of the decline of markets in Jordan and the Gulf states. An estimated 147,000 people were in refugee camps in 1996.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,600 (1996 est.)

Labor force

NA; by occupation: construction 28.2%, agriculture 21.8%, industry 14.5%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12.6%, other services 22.9% (1991) note: excluding Israeli settlers

Industries

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

Electricity - capacity

NA kW

note: most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank;

the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - production

NA kWh

note: most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank;

the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

total value:
$235 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) (includes Gaza Strip)
commodities :
olives, fruit, vegetables
partners:
Jordan, Israel

Imports

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

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

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);
  • Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7090 (January 1997), 0.7090 (1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (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

note: Israeli company BEZEK is responsible for communication services in the West Bank

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

NA; note - 82% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

0 note: 1 broadcast station is planned for Jericho

Televisions

NA; note - 54% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m
1
total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

Highways

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

note: small road network; Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements

Airports

2 (1996 est.)

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 WESTERN SAHARA

Central Intelligence Agency. “West Bank.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/west-bank/1997.

How to cite ← 1996 edition 1998 edition →