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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

4,750 km; majority is bituminous surfaced

Merchant marine [time series]

35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 678,584 GRT/785,220 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 24 container, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-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

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

Ashdod, Haifa

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 1,240,757; females age 15-49 1,218,610; males fit for military service 1,018,212; females fit for military service 996,089; males reach military age (18) annually 46,131; females reach military age (18) annually 44,134 (1993 est.); both sexes are liable for military service

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $33.9 billion; expenditures $36.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.3 billion (FY93)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Economic aid [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

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

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

Imports [time series]

$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

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

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

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

10% (1992 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

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

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$12,100 (1992 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

6.4% (1992 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

11% (1992 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 20,770 km2 land area: 20,330 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Climate [time series]

temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

Coastline [time series]

273 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

2,140 km2 (1989)

Land boundaries [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

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

Constitution [time series]

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 [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

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

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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 [time series]

president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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

Legal system [time series]

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 [time series]

unicameral parliament (Knesset)

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

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 (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

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 (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

People

Birth rate [time series]

20.72 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

6.45 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

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

Labor force [time series]

1.4 million (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)

Languages [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 77.77 years male: 75.72 years female: 79.93 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli

Net migration rate [time series]

16.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

4,918,946 (July 1993 est.) 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.)

Population growth rate [time series]

3.08% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)