The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

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

People
Israel

Population:

7,112,359 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 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 28% (male 1,018,229/female 971,083) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,242,928/female 2,183,688) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 303,289/female 393,142) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 28.9 years male: 28.2 years female: 29.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.713% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

20.02 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

2.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

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 (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 80.61 years male: 78.54 years female: 82.79 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.77 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

3,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli

Ethnic groups:

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)

Religions:

Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)

Languages:

Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.1% male: 98.5% female: 95.9% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 16 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

6.9% of GDP (2004)

Government
Israel

Country name:

conventional long form: State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Jerusalem geographic coordinates: 31 46 N, 35 14 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv

Administrative divisions:

6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

Independence:

14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May

Constitution:

no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law; note - since May 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution

Legal system:

mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI; note - Prime Minister OLMERT resigned on 17 September 2008, but will serve as acting prime minister until a new government is formed cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term (one-term limit); election last held 13 June 2007 (next to be held in 2014 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition note: government coalition - Kadima, Labor Party, GIL (Pensioners), and SHAS election results: Shimon PERES elected president; number of votes in first round - Shimon PERES 58, Reuven RIVLIN 37, Colette AVITAL 21; PERES elected president in second round with 86 votes (unopposed)

Legislative branch:

unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Kadima 22%, Labor 15.1%, SHAS 9.5%, Likud 9%, Yisrael Beiteinu 9%, NU/NRP 7.1%, GIL 5.9%, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 4.7%, Meretz-YAHAD 3.8%, United Arab List 3%, Balad 2.3%, HADASH 2.7%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Kadima 29, Labor 19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3, HADASH 3

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)

Political parties and leaders:

Balad [Azmi BISHARA]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality
(HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKEH]; GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael "Rafi" EITAN];
Kadima [Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI]; Labor Party [Ehud BARAK]; Likud
[Binyamin NETANYAHU]; Meretz-Yachad [Haim ORON]; National Democratic
Assembly (Balad) [Jamal ZAHALKA]; National Union (NU)/National
Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON]; SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah
and Shabbat Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN]; United Arab List
[Ibrahim SARSUR]; Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; YESHA Council of Settlements [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise

International organization participation:

BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS
(observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, SECI (observer),
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Salai MERIDOR chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador James B. CUNNINGHAM embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903 mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575 FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government

Flag description:

white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag

Economy
Israel

Economy - overview:

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, has grown by about 5% per year since 2003. The economy grew an estimated 5.4% in 2007, the fastest pace since 2000. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment, tax revenues, and private consumption, setting the economy on a solid growth path.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$185.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$161.9 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$26,600 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 2.7% industry: 30.2% services: 67.1% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

2.894 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 18.5%, industry 23.7%, services 50%, other 7.8% (2002)

Unemployment rate:

7.3% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

21.6% note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 28.3% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

38.6 (2005)

Investment (gross fixed):

18.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $53.6 billion expenditures: $53.63 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

80.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.5% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

4% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

6.27% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$15.36 billion (31 December 2006)

Stock of quasi money:

$154.3 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$113.4 billion (31 December 2006)

Agriculture - products:

citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

Industries:

high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear

Industrial production growth rate:

4.1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

48.7 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

44.74 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

1.844 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

5,966 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

232,300 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

82,910 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

334,300 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.94 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

970 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

970 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

$5.197 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$50.37 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel

Exports - partners:

US 35%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 5.8% (2007)

Imports:

$55.79 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods

Imports - partners:

US 13.9%, Belgium 7.9%, Germany 6.2%, China 6.1%, Switzerland 5.1%,
UK 4.7%, Italy 4.1% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$240 million from US (FY06)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$28.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$89.95 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$57.97 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$41.96 billion (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$173.3 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS

Currency code:

ILS

Exchange rates:

new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)

Communications
Israel

Telephones - main lines in use:

3.005 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

8.902 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: most highly developed