Israel

Airports

total: 55 usable: 48 with permanent-surface runways: 30 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 13

Highways

total: 13,300 km paved: 13,300 km

Merchant marine

33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 637,097 GRT/737,762 DWT, cargo 8, container 22, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 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

Pipelines

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

Ports

Ashdod, Haifa

Railroads

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

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

Branches

Israel Defense Forces (including ground, naval, and air components) note: historically, there have been no separate Israeli military services

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $12.5 billion, 18% of GDP (1993)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,257,345; females age 15-49 1,280,899; males fit for military service 1,026,699; females fit for military service 1,049,998; males reach military age (18) annually 47,297 (1994 est.); females reach military age (18) annually 45,214 (1994 est.); both sexes are liable for military service

Agriculture

accounts for about 7% of GDP; largely self-sufficient in food production, except for grains; principal products - citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; livestock products - beef, dairy, poultry

Budget

revenues: $33.4 billion expenditures: $36.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (FY93)

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Economic aid

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

Electricity

capacity: 5,835,000 kW production: 21.84 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,600 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 2.9760 (February 1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989)

Exports

$14.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals, textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals partners: US, EC, Japan

External debt

$24.8 billion (December 1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Illicit drugs

increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse and trafficking

Imports

$20.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, oil, other productive inputs, consumer goods partners: US, EC

Industrial production

growth rate 6.5% (1993 est.); accounts for about 30% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

11.3% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $65.7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$13,350 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

3.5% (1993 est.)

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 22% of Israeli workers, construction 6.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, and services most of the rest. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts 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 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 450,000 during the period 1990-93, increased unemployment, intensified housing problems, and strained the government budget. At the same time, the immigrants bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise. Economic problems have eased as immigration has declined, but activity has slowed as the economy shifts from housing to export-driven growth.

Unemployment rate

10.4% (1993 est.)

Area

total area: 20,770 sq km land area: 20,330 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Climate

temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

Coastline

273 km

Environment

current issues: limited arable land and freshwater resources pose serious constraints; deforestation; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation

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; the Gaza Strip and Jericho, formerly occupied by Israel, are now administered by the Palestinian Authority; other areas of the West Bank outside Jericho are Israeli occupied; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

Irrigated land

2,140 sq km (1989)

Land boundaries

total 1,006 km, Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km

Land use

arable land: 17% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 6% other: 32%

Location

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

Map references

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

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

Note

there are 200 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 40 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 24 in the Gaza Strip, and 25 in East Jerusalem (April 1994)

Terrain

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

Administrative divisions

6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

Capital

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

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

Digraph

IS

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Itamar RABINOVICH chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 364-5500

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993) election last held 24 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Ezer WEIZMAN elected by Knesset head of government: Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN (since NA July 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; selected from and approved by the Knesset

FAX

(202) 364-5610 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco

FAX

[972] (3) 663-449

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

Independence

14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

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

Legislative branch

unicameral parliament (Knesset): elections last held NA June 1992 (next to be held by NA 1996); 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 (Hadash) 3, Moledet 3, Arab Democratic Party 2; note - in 1994 three new parties were formed, Yi'ud (from Tzomet), Histadrut List (from the Labor Party), and Peace Guard (from Moledet), resulting in the following new distribution of seats - Labor Party 41, Likud bloc 32, Meretz 12, National Religious Party 6, Shas 6, Tzomet 5, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) 3, Yi'ud 3, Histadrut List 3, Moledet 2, Arab Democratic Party 2, Peace Guard 1

Member of

AG (observer), CCC, CE (observer), 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

Names

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

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)

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

Political parties and leaders

members of the government: Labor Party, Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN; MERETZ, Minister of Communications Shulamit ALONI not in coalition, but voting with the government: SHAS, Arieh DERI; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID; Arab Democratic Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH; Histadrut List, Haim RAMON opposition parties: Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael EITAN; National Religious Party, Zevulun HAMMER; United Torah Jewry, Avraham SHAPIRA; Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Yi'ud, Gonen SEGEV; Peace Guard, Shoul GUTMAN note: Israel currently has a coalition government comprising 3 parties that hold 56 seats of the Knesset's 120 seats

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Edward DJEREJIAN (expected to resign in August 1994) embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 100, Tel Aviv; APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 517-4338

Birth rate

20.55 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

6.43 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

1.9 million (1992) by occupation: public services 29.3%, industry 22.1%, commerce 13.9%, finance and business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%, construction 6.5%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.96 years male: 75.86 years female: 80.16 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1983) total population: 92% male: 95% female: 89%

Nationality

noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli

Net migration rate

8.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

5,050,850 (July 1994 est.) note: includes 110,500 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 14,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 4,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 144,100 in East Jerusalem (1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.22% (1994 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

2.83 children born/woman (1994 est.)