ARCHIVE // PS // 2004

West Bank

2004 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Internet country code [time series]
.ps
Internet users [time series]
145,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2003)
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)
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]
301,600 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]
480,000 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2003)
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
NA
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Budget [time series]
revenues: $676.6 million expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 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]
$2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2001-02 est.)
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due 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 labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment, which in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next three years 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 violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy. In 2004, on-going border issues and the death of Yasser ARAFAT continued to complicate the economic situation.
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; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Exchange rates [time series]
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)
Exports [time series]
$603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip
Exports - commodities [time series]
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners [time series]
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]
purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 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 - $800 (2002 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]
-22% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]
lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports [time series]
$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip
Imports - commodities [time series]
food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners [time series]
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)
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]
2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)
Labor force [time series]
NA
Labor force - by occupation [time series]
agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996)
Population below poverty line [time series]
60% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate [time series]
50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)
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 244 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts(August 2003 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: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
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 the 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 and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.
Military
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: 43.8% (male 518,470; female 493,531) 15-64 years: 52.8% (male 623,785; female 595,376) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 34,226; female 45,816) (2004 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
33.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate [time series]
4.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 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]
total: 20.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Languages [time series]
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 72.88 years male: 71.14 years female: 74.72 years (2004 est.)
Literacy [time series]
definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Median age [time series]
total: 18 years male: 17.8 years female: 18.2 years (2004 est.)
Nationality [time series]
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate [time series]
2.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Population [time series]
2,311,204 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
3.21% (2004 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
4.52 children born/woman (2004 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
Refugees and internally displaced persons [time series]
refugees (country of origin): 665,246 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2004)
Transportation
Airports [time series]
3 (2003 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 (2004 est.)
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: 4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.)
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
none