ARCHIVE // PS // 2001

West Bank

2001 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]
8 (1999)
Internet users [time series]
23,520 (includes Gaza Strip) (1999)
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)
Radios [time series]
NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]
95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]
NA
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
NA
Televisions [time series]
NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Budget [time series]
revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Exchange rates (Currency code) [time series]
ILS; JOD
Debt - external [time series]
$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)
Economic aid (Economic aid - recipient) [time series]
$121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000)
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.
Electricity - consumption [time series]
NA kWh
Electricity - imports [time series]
NA kWh
Electricity - production [time series]
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 Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Electricity - production by source [time series]
fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Exchange rates [time series]
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); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)
Exports [time series]
$682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports - commodities [time series]
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners [time series]
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]
purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]
agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita) [time series]
purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]
-7.5% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports [time series]
$2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports - commodities [time series]
food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners [time series]
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Industrial production growth rate [time series]
NA%
Industries [time series]
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
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.)
Labor force [time series]
NA
Labor force - by occupation [time series]
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)
Population below poverty line [time series]
NA%
Unemployment rate [time series]
40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000)
Geography
Area [time series]
total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km 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
Area - comparative [time series]
slightly smaller than Delaware
Climate [time series]
temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline [time series]
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues [time series]
adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Geographic coordinates [time series]
32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note [time series]
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.)
Irrigated land [time series]
NA sq km
Land boundaries [time series]
total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40%
Location [time series]
Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references [time series]
Middle East
Maritime claims [time series]
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards [time series]
droughts
Natural resources [time series]
arable land
Terrain [time series]
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Government
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Introduction
Background [time series]
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement.
Military
Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]
NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure [time series]
$NA
Military expenditures (Military expenditures - percent of GDP) [time series]
NA%
People
Age structure [time series]
0-14 years: 44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate [time series]
4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Ethnic groups [time series]
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]
NA%
HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]
NA
Infant mortality rate [time series]
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Languages [time series]
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.)
Literacy [time series]
definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Nationality [time series]
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate [time series]
3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Population [time series]
2,090,713 (July 2001 est.) note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
3.48% (2001 est.)
Religions [time series]
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Sex ratio [time series]
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international [time series]
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
Transportation
Airports [time series]
3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: 4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
none
Railways [time series]
0 km
Waterways [time series]
none