ARCHIVE // PS // 2015

West Bank

2015 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Broadcast media [time series]
the Palestinian Authority operates 1 TV and 1 radio station; about 20 private TV and 40 radio stations; both Jordanian TV and satellite TV are accessible (2013)
Internet country code [time series]
.ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Internet users [time series]
total: 1.4 million (includes Gaza Strip) | percent of population: 34.4% (2009) | country comparison to the world: 112
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM 0, FM 27, shortwave 0 (2010)
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: continuing political and economic instability has impeded significant liberalization of the telecommunications industry | domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services; PALTEL plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Jordan to route domestic mobile calls; the Palestinian JAWWAL company and WATANIYA PALESTINE provide cellular services | international: country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2009)
Telephones - fixed lines [time series]
total subscriptions: 400,000 (includes Gaza Strip) | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 104
Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]
total: 3.2 million (includes Gaza Strip) | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 117 (includes Gaza Strip) (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 135
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
31 (2010)
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]
olives, citrus fruit, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Budget [time series]
revenues: $2.742 billion | expenditures: $4.279 billion | note: includes Palestinian Authority expenditures in the Gaza Strip (2014 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) [time series]
-23.1% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 212
Commercial bank prime lending rate [time series]
7.5% (31 December 2014 est.) | 7.5% (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 119
Current account balance [time series]
-$2.894 billion (2014 est.) | -$2.034 billion (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 154
Debt - external [time series]
$1.04 billion (2010 est.) | $1.3 billion (2007 est.) | note: data include the Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 161
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income (Distribution of family income - Gini index) [time series]
34.5 (2009 est.) | note: includes Gaza Strip
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
Economic growth in the West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - has slowed since 2013, in part because of a decline in donor aid and government spending. Private sector development has been weak. Despite the Palestinian Authority's (PA) successful implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli government, Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce, constraining the productive capacity of the West Bank economy. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' inability to access land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas, import and export restrictions, and a high-cost capital structure. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and economic activity.
Exchange rates [time series]
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - | 3.908 (2013 est.) | 3.611 (2013 est.) | 3.86 (2012 est.) | 3.5781 (2011 est.) | 3.739 (2010 est.)
Exports [time series]
$2.107 billion (2014 est.) | $2.102 billion (2013 est.) | note: includes Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 143
Exports - commodities [time series]
stone, olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year
GDP (official exchange rate) [time series]
$6.641 billion | note: includes Gaza Strip (2008 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP (purchasing power parity)) [time series]
$20.12 billion (2014 est.) | $20.02 billion (2013 est.) | $19.92 billion (2012 est.) | note: data are in 2011 US dollars; includes Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 141
GDP - composition, by end use [time series]
household consumption: 86.6% | government consumption: 26.6% | investment in fixed capital: 25.3% | investment in inventories: 1.8% | exports of goods and services: 20.4% | imports of goods and services: -60.7% | (2014 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin [time series]
agriculture: 2.9% | industry: 23.6% | services: 73.5% | note: includes Gaza Strip (2014 est.)
Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita (PPP)) [time series]
$4,900 (2012 est.) | $4,400 (2011 est.) | $4,100 (2010 est.) | note: includes Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 169
Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]
0.5% (2014 est.) | 0.5% (2013 est.) | 6.1% (2012 est.) | note: includes Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 195
Gross national saving [time series]
-12.3% of GDP (2014 est.) | -5.6% of GDP (2013 est.) | -15.2% of GDP (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 178
Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]
lowest 10%: 3.2% | highest 10%: 28.2% | note: includes Gaza Strip (2009 est.)
Imports [time series]
$7.674 billion (2014 est.) | $6.645 billion (2013 est.) | note: data include the Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 112
Imports - commodities [time series]
food, consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate [time series]
1.5% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 143
Industries [time series]
small-scale manufacturing, quarrying, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
1.7% (2014 est.) | 1.7% (2013 est.) | note: includes Gaza Strip | country comparison to the world: 88
Labor force [time series]
1.066 million (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 142
Labor force - by occupation [time series]
agriculture: 11.5% | industry: 34.4% | services: 54.1% | note: includes Gaza Strip (2013 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares [time series]
$2.634 billion (31 December 2012 est.) | $2.532 billion (31 December 2011) | $2.45 billion (31 December 2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 97
Population below poverty line [time series]
18% (2011 est.)
Public debt [time series]
41% of GDP (2013 est.) | 39% of GDP (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 92
Stock of broad money [time series]
$2.399 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $2.16 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 146
Stock of domestic credit [time series]
$1.341 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $1.168 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 151
Stock of narrow money [time series]
$269.2 million (31 December 2014 est.) | $220.5 million (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 173
Taxes and other revenues [time series]
41.3% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 33
Unemployment rate [time series]
16% (2014 est.) | 18.6% (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 150
Energy
Carbon dioxide emissions (Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy) [time series]
3.008 million Mt (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 142
Crude oil - exports [time series]
0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 205
Crude oil - imports [time series]
0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 142
Crude oil - production [time series]
0 bbl/day (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 143
Crude oil - proved reserves [time series]
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) | country comparison to the world: 207
Electricity - consumption [time series]
5.12 billion kWh (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 113
Electricity - exports [time series]
0 kWh (2013) | country comparison to the world: 213
Electricity - from fossil fuels [time series]
100% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 40
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants [time series]
0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 209
Electricity - from nuclear fuels [time series]
0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 205
Electricity - from other renewable sources [time series]
0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 141
Electricity - imports [time series]
4.909 billion kWh (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 42
Electricity - installed generating capacity [time series]
140,000 kW | note: includes Gaza Strip (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 167
Electricity - production [time series]
535 million kWh (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 162
Natural gas - consumption [time series]
0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 208
Natural gas - exports [time series]
0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 207
Natural gas - imports [time series]
0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 78
Natural gas - production [time series]
0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 208
Natural gas - proved reserves [time series]
0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 207
Refined petroleum products - consumption [time series]
23,000 bbl/day (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 125
Refined petroleum products - exports [time series]
514.8 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 112
Refined petroleum products - imports [time series]
16,330 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 112
Refined petroleum products - production [time series]
0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 208
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 | country comparison to the world: 172
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 freshwater 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 about 381 Israeli civilian sites, including about 212 settlements and 134 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 35 sites in East Jerusalem (2014 est.)
Irrigated land [time series]
240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Land boundaries [time series]
total: 478 km | border countries (2): Israel 330 km, Jordan 148 km
Land use [time series]
agricultural land: 43.3% | arable land 7.4%; permanent crops 11%; permanent pasture 24.9% | forest: 1.5% | other: 55.2% | note: includes Gaza Strip (2011 est.)
Location [time series]
Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel
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 in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River valley to the east
Government
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: none | conventional short form: West Bank
Introduction
Background [time series]
From the early 16th century through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I, the Allied powers (France, UK, Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate, and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian border zone, the West Bank remained under Israeli military control until Israel transferred security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority (PA) under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid-2000. In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as PA president, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS have made several attempts at reconciliation, most recently signing an agreement in April 2014 following the collapse of US-brokered peace talks with Israel. The factions, however, have been unable to implement details on governance and security, and the status quo remains with HAMAS in de facto control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank.
Military
Manpower fit for military service [time series]
males age 16-49: 579,248 | females age 16-49: 547,782 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually [time series]
male: 30,925 | female: 29,440 (2010 est.)
People and Society
Age structure [time series]
0-14 years: 33.09% (male 473,108/female 448,612) | 15-24 years: 21.52% (male 307,020/female 292,465) | 25-54 years: 36.96% (male 529,094/female 500,375) | 55-64 years: 4.57% (male 64,093/female 63,289) | 65 years and over: 3.85% (male 45,303/female 62,007) (2015 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
22.99 births/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 67
Contraceptive prevalence rate [time series]
52.5% (includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank) (2010)
Death rate [time series]
3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 216
Dependency ratios [time series]
total dependency ratio: 76% | youth dependency ratio: 70.8% | elderly dependency ratio: 5.2% | potential support ratio: 19.2% | note: data represents the Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)
Drinking water source [time series]
urban: 50.7% of population | rural: 81.5% of population | total: 58.4% of population | urban: 49.3% of population | rural: 18.5% of population | total: 41.6% of population | note: includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 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
Hospital bed density [time series]
1.2 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Infant mortality rate [time series]
total: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 11.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 115
Languages [time series]
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 75.91 years | male: 73.79 years | female: 78.17 years (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 92
Literacy [time series]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 96.5% | male: 98.4% | female: 94.5% | notes: estimates are for the Palestinian Territories (2015 est.)
Median age [time series]
total: 22.7 years | male: 22.6 years | female: 22.9 years (2015 est.)
Nationality [time series]
noun: NA | adjective: NA
Net migration rate [time series]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 111
Physician density (Physicians density) [time series]
1.3 physicians/1,000 population (2013)
Population [time series]
2,785,366 (represents Palestinian population only) (July 2014 est.) | note: approximately 356,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank; approximately 200,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2013) (July 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 142
Population growth rate [time series]
1.95% (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 51
Religions [time series]
Muslim 80.0 - 85.0% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12.0 - 14.0%, Christian 1.0 - 2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1.0% | note: the proportion of Christians continues to fall mainly as a result of the growth of the Muslim population but also because of the migration and the declining birth rate of the Christian population (2012 est.)
Sanitation facility access [time series]
urban: 93% of population | rural: 90.2% of population | total: 92.3% of population | urban: 7% of population | rural: 9.8% of population | total: 7.7% of population | note: includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) [time series]
total: 13 years | male: 12 years | female: 14 years | note: data represents Gaza and West Bank (2013)
Sex ratio [time series]
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 1.06 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female | total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
2.76 children born/woman (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 66
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) (Unemployment, youth ages 15-24) [time series]
total: 38.8% | male: 34.5% | female: 62.2% | note: includes Gaza Strip (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 15
Urbanization [time series]
urban population: 75.3% of total population (2015) | rate of urbanization: 2.81% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.) | note: data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international [time series]
the current status of the West Bank is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Refugees and internally displaced persons [time series]
refugees (country of origin): 762,288 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2014) | IDPs: at least 263,500 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative figures do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)
Transportation
Airports [time series]
2 (2013) | country comparison to the world: 203
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 2 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 | under 914 m: 1 (2013)
Heliports [time series]
1 (2013)
Roadways [time series]
total: 4,686 km | paved: 4,686 km | note: includes Gaza Strip (2010) | country comparison to the world: 154