1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 360 sq km land area: 360 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Climate
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Coastline
40 km
Environment
current issues: desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
International disputes
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined
Irrigated land
115 sq km (1992 est.)
Land boundaries
total 62 km, Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Land use
arable land: 13% permanent crops: 32% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 55%
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Map references
Middle East
Maritime claims
Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined
Natural resources
negligible
Note
there are 24 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1994 est.)
Terrain
flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 52% (female 205,192; male 215,158) 15-64 years: 45% (female 185,748; male 183,886) 65 years and over: 3% (female 13,106; male 10,232) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
50.24 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
4.75 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Infant mortality rate
30.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
NA by occupation: construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7% (1991) note: excluding Jewish settlers
Languages
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.09 years male: 69.56 years female: 72.69 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
NA%
Nationality
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
813,322 (July 1995 est.) note: in addition, there are 4,800 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
4.55% (1995 est.)
Religions
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%
Total fertility rate
7.74 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Digraph
GZ
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah
Note
Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, and subsequently to an elected Palestinian Council, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israelis. Final status is to be determined through direct negotiations within five years.
Economy
Agriculture
olives, citrus and other fruits; vegetables; beef and dairy products
Budget
revenues: $33.6 million expenditures: $34.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89/90)
Currency
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Economic aid
$240 million disbursed from international aid pledges in 1994
Electricity
power supplied by Israel
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.0270 (December 1994), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990)
Exports
$83 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: citrus partners: Israel, Egypt
External debt
$NA
Fiscal year
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Imports
$365 million (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials partners: Israel, Egypt
Industrial production
growth rate 11% (1991 est.)
Industries
generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5.7% (1993)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$2,400 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
NA%
Overview
In 1991 roughly 40% of Gaza Strip workers were employed across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and agricultural enterprises, with worker remittances supplementing GDP by roughly 50%. Gaza depends upon Israel for nearly 90% of its external trade. Aggravating the impact of Israeli military administration, unrest in the territory since 1988 (intifadah) has raised unemployment and lowered the standard of living of Gazans. The Persian Gulf crisis and its aftershocks also have dealt blows to Gaza since August 1990. Worker remittances from the Gulf states have dropped, unemployment has increased, and exports have fallen. The withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip in May 1994 brings a new set of adjustment problems.
Unemployment rate
45% (1994 est.)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA; note - 95% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)
Telephone system
NA; note - 10% of Palestinian households have telephones (1992 est.) local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Television
broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA; note - 59% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)
Transportation
Airports
total: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
Highways
total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA note: small, poorly developed road network
Ports
Gaza
Railroads
total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains
Military and Security
Branches
NA
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP ________________________________________________________________________ GEORGIA Note--Georgia has been beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence. In late 1991, the country's first elected president, Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA was ousted in an armed coup. In October 1993, GAMSAKHURDIA, and his supporters sponsored a failed attempt to retake power from the current government led by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard SHEVARDNADZE. The Georgian government has also faced armed separatist conflicts in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions. A cease-fire went into effect in South Ossetia in June 1992 and a joint Georgian-Ossetian-Russian peacekeeping force has been in place since that time. Georgian forces were driven out of the Abkhaz region in September 1993 after a yearlong war with Abkhaz separatists. Nearly 200,000 Georgian refugees have since fled Abkhazia, adding substantially to the estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons already in Georgia. Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the border of Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia.