ARCHIVE // PS // 2010

Gaza Strip

2010 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Broadcast media [time series]
1 television station and about 10 radio stations (2008)
Internet country code [time series]
.ps; note - same as West Bank
Internet users [time series]
1.379 million (includes West Bank) (2009) country comparison to the world: 87
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: Gaza continues to repair the damage to its telecommunications infrastructure caused by fighting in 2009 domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2009)
Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]
360,400 (includes West Bank) (2010) country comparison to the world: 108
Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]
2.405 million (includes West Bank) (2010) country comparison to the world: 124
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]
olives, fruit, vegetables, flowers; beef, dairy products
Commercial bank prime lending rate [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Debt - external [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
High population density, limited land and sea access, continuing isolation, and strict internal and external security controls have degraded economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas in the Palestinian Territories. Israeli-imposed crossings closures, which became more restrictive after HAMAS violently took over the territory in June 2007, and fighting between HAMAS and Israel during December 2008-January 2009, resulted in the near collapse of most of the private sector, extremely high unemployment, and high poverty rates. Shortages of goods are met through large-scale humanitarian assistance - led by UNRWA - and the HAMAS-regulated black market tunnel trade that flourishes under the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. However, chnages to the blockade in 2010 included moving from a white list - in which only approved items were allowed into Gaza through the crossings - to a black list, where all but non-approved items were allowed into Gaza through the crossings. Israeli authorities have recently signaled that exports from the territory might be possible in the future, but currently regular exports from Gaza are not permitted.
Electricity - consumption [time series]
202,000 kWh (2009) country comparison to the world: 213
Electricity - exports [time series]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports [time series]
120,000 kWh; note - from Israeli Electric Company (2009)
Electricity - production [time series]
65,000 kWh (2009) country comparison to the world: 212
Exchange rates [time series]
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.7461 (2010), 3.9326 (2009), 3.56 (2008), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006)
Exports - commodities [time series]
strawberries, carnations
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP (purchasing power parity)) [time series]
see entry for West Bank
GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita (PPP)) [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Imports [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Imports - commodities [time series]
food, consumer goods note: Israel permits limited imports through crossings with Gaza, but many "dual use" goods, such as construction materials, are smuggled through tunnels beneath Gaza's border with Egypt
Industrial production growth rate [time series]
see entry for West Bank
Industries [time series]
textiles, food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
9.9% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 199 11.5% (2008) note: includes West Bank
Labor force [time series]
339,000 (2009) country comparison to the world: 160
Labor force - by occupation [time series]
agriculture: 12% industry: 5% services: 83% (June 2008)
Oil - consumption [time series]
See entry for West Bank
Oil - exports [time series]
See entry for West Bank
Oil - imports [time series]
See entry for West Bank
Oil - production [time series]
See entry for West Bank
Oil - proved reserves [time series]
NA bbl NA bbl
Population below poverty line [time series]
70% (2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit [time series]
note: see entry for West Bank
Unemployment rate [time series]
40% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 186 40% (2009 est.)
Geography
Area [time series]
total: 360 sq km country comparison to the world: 205 land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative [time series]
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Climate [time series]
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Coastline [time series]
40 km
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m
Environment - current issues [time series]
desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources
Geographic coordinates [time series]
31 25 N, 34 20 E
Geography - note [time series]
strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history
Irrigated land [time series]
155 sq km; (note - includes West Bank) (2003)
Land boundaries [time series]
total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 29% permanent crops: 21% other: 50% (2002)
Location [time series]
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Map references [time series]
Middle East
Maritime claims [time series]
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Natural hazards [time series]
droughts
Natural resources [time series]
arable land, natural gas
Terrain [time series]
flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Government
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita' Ghazzah
Introduction
Background [time series]
The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel still controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip; and it enforces a restricted zone along the border inside Gaza. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. Violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007 resulted in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. In February 2007, ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June 2007, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal, and despite multiple rounds of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation negotiations, the two groups have failed to bridge their differences. Late November 2007 through June 2008 witnessed a substantial increase in Israeli-Palestinian violence. An Egyptian-brokered truce in June 2008 between Israel and HAMAS brought about a five-month pause in hostilities, but spiraling end-of-year violence resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,100 to 1,400 Palestinians and left tens of thousands of people homeless. International donors pledged $4.5 billion in aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip, but by the end of 2010 large-scale reconstruction had not begun.
Military
Manpower available for military service [time series]
males age 16-49: 372,843 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service [time series]
males age 16-49: 324,203 females age 16-49: 308,835 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually [time series]
male: 18,931 female: 18,010 (2010 est.)
Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]
Palestinian Authority security forces have operated only in the West Bank, not in the Gaza Strip, since HAMAS seized power in June 2007; law and order and other security functions are performed by HAMAS security organizations (2008)
Military expenditures [time series]
NA
People
Age structure [time series]
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 353,489/female 334,770) 15-64 years: 53% (male 420,618/female 402,297) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 16,483/female 24,202) (2010 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
36.26 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 28
Death rate [time series]
3.36 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 217
Education expenditure (Education expenditures) [time series]
NA
Ethnic groups [time series]
Palestinian Arab
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: 17.71 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 107 male: 18.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Languages [time series]
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 73.68 years country comparison to the world: 111 male: 72.05 years female: 75.4 years (2010 est.)
Literacy [time series]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)
Median age [time series]
total: 17.5 years male: 17.4 years female: 17.7 years (2010 est.)
Nationality [time series]
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate [time series]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 85
Population [time series]
1,604,238 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 149
Population growth rate [time series]
3.29% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Religions [time series]
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99.3%, Christian 0.7%
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) [time series]
total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 14 years (2006)
Sex ratio [time series]
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
4.9 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 27
Urbanization [time series]
urban population: 72% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 3.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 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; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005
Refugees and internally displaced persons [time series]
refugees (country of origin): 1.017 million (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)
Transportation
Airports [time series]
1 (2010) country comparison to the world: 223
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2010)
Heliports [time series]
1 (2010)
Ports (Ports and terminals) [time series]
Gaza
Roadways [time series]
note: see entry for West Bank