1998 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1998 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area-comparative
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Climate
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Coastline
40 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
Environment-current issues
desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment
Environment-international agreements
party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates
31 25 N, 34 20 E
Geography-note
there are 24 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1997 est.)
Irrigated land
120 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Land use
arable land: 24% permanent crops: 39% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 11% other: 26% (1993 est.)
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Map references
Middle East
Maritime claims
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement-permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
NEGL
Terrain
flat to rolling, sandand dune-covered coastal plain
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 52% (male 278,551; female 265,009) 15-64 years: 46% (male 241,420; female 238,857) 65 years and over: 2% (male 12,966; female 17,370) (July 1998 est.)
Birth rate
49.07 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate
4 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Infant mortality rate
24.45 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.95 years male: 71.56 years female: 74.4 years (1998 est.)
Literacy
NA
Nationality
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate
18.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population
1,054,173 (July 1998 est.) note: in addition, there are 6,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 1997 est.)
Population growth rate
6.4% (1998 est.)
Religions
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate
7.57 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Government
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah
Data code
GZ
Economy
Agriculture-products
olives, citrus, other fruits, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Budget
revenues: $684 million expenditures: $779 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996) note: includes West Bank
Currency
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Debt-external
$NA
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA
Economy-overview
Economic progress in the Gaza Strip has been hampered by tight Israeli security restrictions. 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 has depended upon Israel for nearly 90% of its external trade. The Persian Gulf crisis and its aftershocks have dealt blows to Gaza since August 1990. Worker remittances from the Gulf states have dropped, unemployment and popular unrest have increased, and living standards have fallen. The redeployment of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip in May 1994 has added to the set of adjustment problems. This series of disruptions has meant a sharp decline in employment in Israel since 1991 and a drop in GDP as a whole. An estimated 378,000 persons were in refugee camps in 1996.
Electricity-capacity
NA kW note: electricity supplied by Israel
Electricity-consumption per capita
NA kWh
Electricity-production
NA kWh note: electricity supplied by Israel
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1-3.5340 (December 1997), 3.4494 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993)
Exports
total value: $630 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) (includes West Bank) commodities: citrus partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
Fiscal year
calendar year (since 1 January 1992) Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity-$1 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector
agriculture: 33% industry: 25% services: 42% (1995 est., includes West Bank)
GDP-per capita
purchasing power parity-$1,100 (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate
-6.9% (1996 est.)
Imports
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.) (includes West Bank) commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
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 price index
8.4% (1996 est.)
Labor force
NA by occupation: services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) note: excluding Israeli settlers
Radio broadcast stations
AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios
NA; note-95% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)
Telephone system
domestic: NA international: NA
Telephones
NA note: 3.1% of Palestinian households have telephones
Television broadcast stations
1 station operated by the Palestinian Authority
Televisions
NA; note-59% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
28% (1997 est.)
Transportation
Airports
2 (1997 est.) note: includes new international airport that was scheduled to open in June 1997, but has been delayed due to political and security disagreements between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators Airports-with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Highways
total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network Ports and harbors: Gaza
Railways
total: NA km; note-one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains
Military and Security
Military branches
NA
Military expenditures-dollar figure
$NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP
NA%
Transnational Issues
Current issues
Beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence in 1991, Georgia began to stabilize in 1994. Separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been dormant since spring 1994, although political settlements remain elusive. Russian peacekeepers are deployed in both regions and a UN Observer Mission is operating in Abkhazia. As a result of these conflicts, Georgia still has about 250,000 internally displaced people. In 1995, Georgia adopted a new constitution and conducted generally free and fair nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections. In 1996, the government focused its attention to implementing an ambitious economic reform program and professionalizing its parliament. Violence and organized crime were sharply curtailed in 1995 and 1996, but corruption remains rife. In 1997, SHEVARDNADZE succeeded in bringing international attention to the Abkhazia conflict. The UN sponsored two meetings on the subject, but a resolution is still far off. Georgia also took some steps in 1997 to reduce its dependence on Russia, acquiring coastal patrol boats it hopes to use to replace the current Russian border units on the Black Sea coast. The year 1997 also saw a sharpening of rhetoric-especially from parliament-against Russia's continued military presence on Georgian territory.
Disputes-international
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 Introduction