1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; hot and dry in desert areas
Coastline
273 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than New Jersey
Continental shelf
to depth of exploitation;
Disputes
separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan
Environment
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation;
Land boundaries
1,006 km total; Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307, Gaza Strip 51 km
Land use
17% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures; 6% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 11% irrigated
Natural resources
copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
Note
there are 173 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 35 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
Terrain
Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Territorial sea
6 nm
Total area
20,770 km2; land area: 20,330 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
83% Jewish, 17% non-Jewish (mostly Arab)
Infant mortality rate
9 deaths/1,000 live births (July 1990)
Labor force
1,400,000 (1984 est.); 29.5% public services; 22.8% industry, mining, and manufacturing; 12.8% commerce; 9.5% finance and business; 6.8% transport, storage, and communications; 6.5% construction and public works; 5.5% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 5.8% personal and other services; 1.0% electricity and water (1983)
Language
Hebrew (official); Arabic used officially for Arab minority; English most commonly used foreign language
Life expectancy at birth
76 years male, 79 years female (July 1990)
Literacy
88% Jews, 70% Arabs
Nationality
noun--Israeli(s); adjective--Israeli
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
90% of labor force
Population
4,409,218 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1989); includes 70,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 10,500 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 2,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 110,000 in East Jerusalem
Religion
83% Judaism, 13.1% Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim), 2.3% Christian, 1.6% Druze
Total fertility rate
2.9 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
6 districts (mehozot, singular--mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Capital
Israel proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
Communists
Hadash (predominantly Arab but with Jews in its leadership) has some 1,500 members
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
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Moshe ARAD; Chancery at 3514 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 364-5500; there are Israeli Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador William A. BROWN; Embassy at 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv (mailing address is APO New York 09672); telephone [972] (3) 654338; there is a US Consulate General in Jerusalem
Elections
President--last held 23 February 1988 (next to be held February 1994); results--Gen. Chaim Herzog reelected by Knesset; Parliament--last held 1 November 1988 (next to be held by November 1992); seats--(120 total) Likud bloc 40, Labor Party 39, SHAS 6, National Religious Party 5, Agudat Yisrael 5, Citizens' Rights Movement 5, RAKAH 4, Tehiya Party 3, MAPAM 3, Tzomet Party 2, Moledet Party 2, Degel HaTorah 2, Center Movement-Shinui 2, Progressive List for Peace 1, Arab Democratic Party 1
Executive branch
president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet
Flag
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
Independence
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State--President Gen. Chaim HERZOG (since 5 May 1983); Head of Government--Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR (since 20 October 1986); Vice Prime Minister Shimon PERES (Prime Minister from 13 September 1984 to 20 October 1986, when he rotated to Vice Prime Minister)
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
Legislative branch
unicameral Knesset
Long-form name
State of Israel
Member of
CCC, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOOC, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OAS (observer), UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 10 May 1989; Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May
Other political or pressure groups
Gush Emunim, Jewish nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now, critical of government's West Bank/Gaza Strip and Lebanon policies
Political parties and leaders
Israel currently has a national unity government comprising five parties that hold 95 of the Knesset's 120 seats; Members of the unity government--Likud bloc, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; Labor Party, Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Shimon Peres; Sephardic Torah Guardians (SHAS), Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yitzhak Peretz; National Religious Party, Minister of Religious Affairs Zevulun Hammer; Agudat Yisrael, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Moshe Zeev Feldman; Opposition parties--Tehiya Party, Yuval Ne'eman; Tzomet Party, Rafael Eytan; Moledet Party, Rehavam Ze'evi; Degel HaTorah, Avraham Ravitz; Citizens' Rights Movement, Shulamit Aloni; United Workers' Party (MAPAM), Yair Tzaban; Center Movement-Shinui, Amnon Rubenstein; New Communist Party of Israel (RAKAH), Meir Wilner; Progressive List for Peace, Muhammad Mi'ari; Arab Democratic Party, Abd Al Wahab Darawshah
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 5% of GNP; largely self-sufficient in food production, except for bread grains; principal products--citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; livestock products--beef, dairy, and poultry
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $15.8 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.2 billion
Budget
revenues $24.2 billion; expenditures $26.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $7 billion (FY89 est.)
Currency
new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels); 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Electricity
4,392,000 kW capacity; 17,500 million kWh produced, 4,000 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--1.9450 (January 1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985)
Exports
$10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--polished diamonds, citrus and other fruits, textiles and clothing, processed foods, fertilizer and chemical products, military hardware, electronics; partners--US, UK, FRG, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy
External debt
$16.4 billion (March 1989)
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
GNP
$38 billion, per capita $8,700; real growth rate 1% (1989)
Imports
$12.4 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--military equipment, rough diamonds, oil, chemicals, machinery, iron and steel, cereals, textiles, vehicles, ships, aircraft; partners--US, FRG, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg
Industrial production
growth rate - 1.5% (1989)
Industries
food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment, electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
20% (1989)
Overview
Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports for crude oil, food, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has developed its agriculture and industry sectors on an intensive scale over the past 20 years. Industry accounts for about 23% of the labor force, agriculture for 6%, and services for most of the balance. Diamonds, high-technology machinery, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the biggest export earners. The balance of payments has traditionally been negative, but is offset by large transfer payments and foreign loans. Nearly two-thirds of Israel's $16 billion external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source for economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel must continue to exploit high-technology niches in the international market, such as medical scanning equipment. In 1987 the economy showed a 5.2% growth in real GNP, the best gain in nearly a decade; in 1988-89 the gain was only 1% annually, largely because of the economic impact of the Palestinian uprising (intifadah). Inflation dropped from an annual rate of over 400% in 1984 to about 16% in 1987-88 without any major increase in unemployment.
Unemployment rate
9% (December 1989)
Communications
Airports
55 total, 52 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
27 major transport aircraft
Highways
4,500 km; majority is bituminous surfaced
Merchant marine
31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 483,424 GRT/560,085 DWT; includes 9 cargo, 20 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo
Pipelines
crude oil, 708 km; refined products, 290 km; natural gas, 89 km
Ports
Ashdod, Haifa, Elat
Railroads
594 km 1.435-meter gauge, single track; diesel operated
Telecommunications
most highly developed in the Middle East though not the largest; good system of coaxial cable and radio relay; 1,800,000 telephones; stations--11 AM, 24 FM, 54 TV; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Israel Defense Forces; historically there have been no separate Israeli military services; ground, air, and naval components are branches of Israel Defense Forces
Defense expenditures
8.5% of GNP, or $3.2 billion (1989 est.); note--does not include an estimated $1.8 billion in US military aid
Military manpower
eligible 15-49, 2,159,462; of the 1,089,346 males 15-49, 898,272 are fit for military service; of the 1,070,116 females 15-49, 878,954 are fit for military service; 43,644 males and 41,516 females reach military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service