Background:
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| Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out 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. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. An Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005, along with an internally-brokered Palestinian cease-fire, significantly reduced the violence. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006; he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of the West Bank following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July 2006 and a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006. OLMERT in June 2007 resumed talks with the PA after HAMAS seized control of the Gaza Strip and PA President Mahmoud ABBAS formed a new government without HAMAS. OLMERT in September 2008 resigned in the wake of several corruption allegations, but remained prime minister until the new coalition government under former Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU was completed in late March 2009, following the February general election. |
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Location:
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| Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
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Geographic coordinates:
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31 30 N, 34 45 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 22,072 sq km
country comparison to the world: 159
land:
21,642 sq km
water:
430 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than New Jersey
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,017 km
border countries:
Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
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Coastline:
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273 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
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Terrain:
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Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point:
Har Meron 1,208 m
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Natural resources:
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timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
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Land use:
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arable land: 15.45%
permanent crops:
3.88%
other:
80.67% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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1,940 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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1.7 cu km (2001)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)
per capita:
305 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
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Environment - current issues:
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limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Marine Life Conservation
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Geography - note:
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there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source |
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Population:
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| 7,233,701
country comparison to the world: 98
note:
includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 27.9% (male 1,031,629/female 984,230)
15-64 years:
62.3% (male 2,283,034/female 2,221,301)
65 years and over:
9.9% (male 311,218/female 402,289) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 29.1 years
male:
28.4 years
female:
29.8 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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1.671% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
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Birth rate:
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19.77 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
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Death rate:
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5.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 180
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Net migration rate:
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2.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 92% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
1.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.77 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 207
male:
4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
4.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 80.73 years
country comparison to the world: 13
male:
78.62 years
female:
82.95 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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2.75 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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5,100 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer than 200 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
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Nationality:
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noun: Israeli(s)
adjective:
Israeli
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Ethnic groups:
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Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
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Religions:
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Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
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Languages:
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Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
97.1%
male:
98.5%
female:
95.9% (2004 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 15 years
male:
15 years
female:
16 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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6.9% of GDP (2004)
country comparison to the world: 25
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