2000 Edition

Background

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes a Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, 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 took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. 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 Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus.

Area

land

360 sq km

total

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

highest point

Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

lowest point

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

Environment - current issues

desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment

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 1999 est.)

Irrigated land

120 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

total

62 km

Land use

arable land

24%

forests and woodland

11%

other

26% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

39%

permanent pastures

0%

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

arable land

Terrain

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Age structure

0-14 years: 50% (male 289,954; female 275,628) 15-64 years: 47% (male 271,365; female 263,197) 65 years and over: 3% (male 13,792; female 18,127) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

43.14 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Infant mortality rate

25.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Life expectancy at birth

female

72.11 years (2000 est.)

male

69.58 years

total population

70.82 years

Literacy

definition

NA

female

NA%

male

NA%

total population

NA%

Nationality

adjective

NA

noun

NA

Net migration rate

0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

1,132,063

note

in addition, there are some 6,500 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

3.97% (2000 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population

1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.55 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Gaza Strip

local long form

none

local short form

Qita Ghazzah

Data code

GZ

Agriculture - products

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Budget

expenditures

$1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA

note

includes West Bank (1999 est.)

revenues

$1.6 billion

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Debt - external

$108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$800 million pledged (includes West Bank) (1999)

Economy - overview

Economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - have deteriorated since the early 1990s. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined 36% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and robust population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious negative social effect of this downturn has been the emergence of chronic unemployment; average unemployment rates in the WBGS during the 1980s were generally under 5%; by the mid-1990s this level had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. In October 1999, Israel permitted the opening of a safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in accordance with the 1995 Interim Agreement. These changes to the conduct of economic activity have fueled a moderate economic recovery in 1998-99.

Electricity - consumption

NA kWh

Electricity - imports

NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

Electricity - production

0 kWh (1998)

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 4.2260 (November 1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995)

Exports

$682 million (includes West Bank) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports - commodities

citrus, flowers

Exports - partners

Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.17 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

33%

industry

25%

services

42% (1995 est., includes West Bank)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,060 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.6% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.) (includes West Bank)

Imports - commodities

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - 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 prices)

5% (includes West Bank) (1999 est.)

Labor force

NA

Labor force - by occupation

services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

14.5% (includes West Bank) (1998 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

3 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Telephone system

domestic

rudimentary telephone services provided by an open wire system

international

NA

Telephones - main lines in use

95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular

NA

Television broadcast stations

2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)

Televisions

NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)

Airports

2 (1999 est.)

note

includes Gaza International Airport that opened on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum

Airports - with paved runways

total

1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Highways

note

small, poorly developed road network

paved

NA km

total

NA km

unpaved

NA km

Ports and harbors

Gaza

Railways

total

NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains

Military branches

NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

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

GEORGIA