Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)

§1. Israel Introduction

Background:
  Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of
  Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an
  arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the
  Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two
  sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not
  included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. In keeping
  with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991,
  bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian
  representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and
  Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. On 25 April 1982,
  Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace
  Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were
  resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. On 25 May
  2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had
  occupied since 1982.

§2. Israel Geography

Location:
  Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon

Geographic coordinates:
  31 30 N, 34 45 E

Map references:
  Middle East

Area:
  total: 20,770 kmē
  land: 20,330 kmē
  water: 440 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,006 km border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan
    238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km

Coastline:
  273 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM

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

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m

Natural resources:
  timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide,
  clays, sand, oil

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 4%
  permanent pastures: 7%
  forests and woodland: 6%
  other: 66% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  1,800 kmē (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
  sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts

Environment - current issues:
  limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious
  constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle
  emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste,
  chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
    Pollution, Wetlands
  signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
    Conservation

Geography - note:
  there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West
  Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and
  29 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.)

§3. Israel People

Population:
  5,938,093 (July 2001 est.)
  note: includes about 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about
    20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, about 6,900 in the Gaza
    Strip, and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27.36% (male 831,523; female 792,982)
  15-64 years: 62.73% (male 1,869,114; female 1,855,707)
  65 years and over: 9.91% (male 253,105; female 335,662) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.58% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  19.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  7.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.71 years male: 76.69 years
  female: 80.84 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.57 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.08% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  2,400 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Israeli(s)
  adjective: Israeli

Ethnic groups:
  Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born
  14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.)

Religions:
  Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other
  3.2% (1996 est.)

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

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 95%
  male: 97%
  female: 93% (1992 est.)

§4. Israel Government

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

Government type:
  parliamentary democracy

Capital:
  Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as 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)

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

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

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
  head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 2 March 2001)
  cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
  elections: president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term; election
    last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2005); prime minister
    elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 6
    February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - in March 1992, the
    Knesset approved legislation, effective in 1996, which allowed for the
    direct election of the prime minister, but in 2001 the Knesset voted to
    restore the previous method under which the legislators will choose the
    next prime minister after the next legislative elections in 2003
  election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset
    with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57
    votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON elected prime
    minister; percent of vote - Ariel SHARON 62.5%, Ehud BARAK 37.4%; note -
    after the next legislative elections scheduled for 2003, the prime
    minister will be elected by the Knesset

Legislative branch:
  unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular
  vote to serve four-year terms)
  elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003)
  election results: percent of vote by party - One Israel 20.2%, Likud Party
    14.1%, Shas 13%, MERETZ 7.6%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 5.1%, Shinui 5%, Center
    Party 5%, National Religious Party 4.2%, United Torah Judaism 3.7%,
    United Arab List 3.4%, National Union 3%, Hadash 2.6%, Yisra'el Beiteinu
    2.6%, Balad 1.9%, One Nation 1.9%, Democratic Movement NA (party formed
    after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list); seats by
    party - One Israel 26, Likud Party 19, Shas 17, MERETZ 10, Yisra'el
    Ba'Aliya 4, Shinui 6, Center Party 6, National Religious Party 5, United
    Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 5, National Union 4, Hadash 3, Yisra'el
    Beiteinu 4, Democratic Movement 2 (party formed after election, members
    elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list), Balad 2, One Nation 2

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)

Political parties and leaders:
  Balad or National Democratic Alliance [Amnon LIPKIN-SHAHAK]; Center Party
  [Yitzhak MORDECHAI]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David
  LEVI]; Hadash [Muhammad BARAKA]; Labor Party [leader vacant]; Likud Party
  [Ariel SHARON]; MERETZ [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad)
  [leader NA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union
  [Rehavam ZEEVI] (includes Herut, Tekuma, and Moledet); One Israel [leader
  NA] (includes Labor, Gesher, and Meimad); One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas
  [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik
  DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Rabbi Eliezer SHACK, spiritual leader];
  Yisra'el Ba'Aliya [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West
  Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West
  Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy

International organization participation:
  BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB,
  IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE
  (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David IVRY chancery: 3514 International Drive
    NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
  FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
    Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Martin S. INDYK embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street,
    Tel Aviv
  mailing address: PSC 98, Unit 7228, APO AE 09830
  telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575
  FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227
  consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission,
    established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign
    government

Flag description:
  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

§5. Israel Economy

Economy - overview:
  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. Cuts 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 topped 750,000 during the period 1989-99, bringing the
  population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth
  of the total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise
  of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, 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 5.9% in 2000.
  But the outbreak of Palestinian unrest in late September and the collapse
  of the BARAK Government - coupled with a cooling off in the high-technology
  and tourist sectors - undercut the boom and foreshadows a slowdown to 2%-3%
  in 2001.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $110.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5.9% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $18,900 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4% industry: 37%
  services: 59% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 26.9% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  0.1% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  2.4 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%,
  commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%,
  transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and
  fishing 2.6% (1996)

Unemployment rate:
  9% (2000 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $40 billion
  expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000
    est.)

Industries:
  high-technology projects (including aviation, communications,
  computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and
  paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco,
  caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting

Industrial production growth rate:
  7% (2000)

Electricity - production:
  35.437 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 99.89% hydro: 0.11%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  31.899 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  1.061 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  4 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

Exports:
  $31.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products,
  chemicals, textiles and apparel

Exports - partners:
  US 36%, UK 6%, Benelux 5%, Hong Kong 4%, Netherlands 4% (1999)

Imports:
  $35.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:
  raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels,
  consumer goods

Imports - partners:
  US 20%, Benelux 11%, Germany 8%, UK 8%, Switzerland 6%, Italy 5% (1999)

Debt - external:
  $38 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $1.1 billion from the US (1999)

Currency:
  new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code:
  ILS

Exchange rates:
  new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000),
  4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Israel Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  2.8 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  2.5 million (1999)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East
    although not the largest
  domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all
    systems are digital
  international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2
    Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
  3.07 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
  1.69 million (1997)

Internet country code:
  .il

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  21 (2000)

Internet users:
  1 million (2000)

§7. Israel Transportation

Railways:
  total: 610 km
  standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)

Highways:
  total: 15,965 km
  paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)

Waterways:
  none

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

Ports and harbors:
  Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Merchant marine:
  total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,582 GRT/745,011 DWT
  ships by type: container 16, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.)

Airports:
  55 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 30 over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
  914 to 1,523 m: 10
  under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 20 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  2 (2000 est.)

§8. Israel Military

Military branches:
  Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air components), Pioneer
  Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note - historically
  there have been no separate Israeli military services

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,522,003 females age 15-49: 1,482,027 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 1,245,757 females age 15-49: 1,208,973 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 49,206 females: 53,379 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $8.7 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  9.4% (FY99)

§9. Israel Transnational Issues

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; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied
  (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights)

Illicit drugs:
  increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in
  country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan
