2001 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2001 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Age structure
0-14 years: 49.89% (male 301,288; female 286,481) 15-64 years: 47.32% (male 283,274; female 274,189) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 14,121; female 18,766) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports
2 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 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) Gaza Strip Military
Area
total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Background
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided 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 the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the 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. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. Gaza Strip Geography
Birth rate
42.48 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget
revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes West Bank (1999 est.)
Climate
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Coastline
40 km
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah Gaza Strip Economy
Currency
new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Currency code
ILS
Death rate
4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external
$108 million (1997 est.) (includes West Bank)
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
Economic aid - recipient
$121 million disbursed (2000) (includes West Bank)
Economy - overview
Economic output in the Gaza Strip - which comes under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - declined perhaps one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn 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 (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it 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. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.
Electricity - consumption
NA kWh
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel
Electricity - production
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel
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; water-borne disease; soil degradation
Ethnic groups
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996)
Exports
$682 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.) (includes West Bank)
Exports - commodities
citrus, flowers
Exports - partners
Israel, Egypt, West Bank
Fiscal year
calendar year Gaza Strip Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity - $1.11 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% (1999 est., includes West Bank)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
-7.5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates
31 25 N, 34 20 E
Geography - note
there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.) Gaza Strip People
Highways
total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
NA%
HIV/AIDS - deaths
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
NA
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
Infant mortality rate
25.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3% (includes West Bank) (2000 est.)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
3 (1999)
Internet users
23,520 (1999) (includes West Bank) Gaza Strip Transportation
Irrigated land
120 sq km (1993 est.)
Labor force
NA
Labor force - by occupation
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)
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.)
Languages
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.01 years male: 69.76 years female: 72.32 years (2001 est.)
Literacy
definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% Gaza Strip Government
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
Military branches
NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure
$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
NA% Gaza Strip Transnational Issues
Nationality
noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards
droughts
Natural resources
arable land, natural gas
Net migration rate
1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Population
1,178,119 (July 2001 est.) note: in addition, there are some 6,900 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Population growth rate
4.01% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors
Gaza
Radio broadcast stations
AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios
NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Railways
total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains
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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Telephone system
general assessment: NA 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)
Terrain
flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Total fertility rate
6.42 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate
40% (includes West Bank) (yearend 2000)
Waterways
none