1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; involved in complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei

West Bank—Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Gaza Strip—lIsraeli occupied with status to be determined

Climate

tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to September); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

West Bank—temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters; Gaza Strip— temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Coastline

1,448 km

West Bank—none (landlocked), Gaza Strip—40 km

Comparative area

about the size of Connecticut and New Hampshire combined

West Bank—slightly larger than Delaware; Gaza Strip— about twice the size of Washington, D. C.

Environment

subject to earthquakes and typhoons

West Bank—highlands are main recharge area for Israel’s coastal aquifers; Gaza Strip—desertification

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

West Bank—480 km total; Gaza Strip—72 km total

Land use

24% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 55% forest and woodland; 15% other; 14% irrigated

West Bank—27% arable land, 0% permanent crops, 32% meadows and pastures, 1% forest and woodland, 40% other; Gaza Strip—13% arable land, 32% permanent crops, 0% meadows and pastures, 0% forest and woodland, 55% other

Maritime claims

West Bank—none (landlocked); Gaza Strip—to be determined

Special notes

none

West Bank—landlocked, Israeli settlements; Gaza Strip— Israeli settlements

Terrain

mostly mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west

West Bank—mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east; Gaza Strip—flat to rolling, sand and dune covered coastal plain

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

100 km Chi-lung Taiwan Strait Cheng-hua Hus-lien Pescadoras . ’> Taiwan Philippine > Ma-kung Sea Quemoy and Matsu istanda are not shown a

35,980 km?; land area: 35,980 km?

West Bank—5,860 km? (includes West Bank, East Jerusalem, Latrun Salient, Jerusalem No Man’s Land, and northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus) and Gaza Strip— 380km?; land area: West Bank—5,640 km? and Gaza Strip—380 km?

Administrative divisions

16 counties, 5 cities, 2 special municipalities (Taipei and Kao-hsiung)

Branches

five independent branches (executive, legislative, judicial, plus traditional Chinese functions of examination and control), dominated by executive branch; President and Vice President elected by National Assembly

Capital

Taipei

Elections

national level—Legislative Yuan every three years; National Assembly and Control Yuan every six years; no general election held since 1948 election on mainland (partial elections for Taiwan province representatives in December 1969, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986); local level—provincial assembly, county and municipal executives every four years; county and municipal assemblies every four years Politica] parties and leaders: Kuomintang, or National Party, led by Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo; Democratic Socialist Party and Young China Party controlled by Kuomintang; The Democratic Progressive Party (new opposition party) not formally recognized by Kuomintang

Ethnic divisions

85% Taiwanese, 14% mainland Chinese, 2% aborigine

West Bank—88% Palestinian Arab and other, 12% Jewish (including expanded East Jerusalem), 4% Bedouin; Gaza Strip—99.8% Palestinian Arab and other, 0.2% Jewish

Government leaders

CHIANG Chingkuo, President (since March 1978); YU Kuo-hua, Premier (since June 1984)

Infant mortality rate

11.01/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

7,491,000 (1984); 41% industry and commerce, 32% services, 20% agriculture, 7% civil administration; 2.4% unemployment (1984)

West Bank—(excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) 29.8% small industry, commerce, and business, 24.2% construction, 22.4% agriculture, and 23.6% service and other (1984); Gaza Strip— (excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) 32.0% small industry, commerce and business, 24.4% construction, 25.5% service and other, and 18.1% agriculture (1984)

Language

Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese and Hakka dialects also used

West Bank—aArabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely understood; Gaza Strip—Arabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely understood

Legal system

based on civil law system; constitution adopted 1946, though 1948 amendments set most of the constitution aside; martial law (declared in 1949) was lifted in early 1987; accepts compulsory IC] jurisdiction, with reservations

Life expectancy

men 69.9, women 74.9

Literacy

94%

Member of

expelled from UN General Assembly and Security Council on 25 October 1971 and withdrew on same date from other charter-designated subsidiary organs; expelled from IMF/World Bank group April/May 1980; member of ADB and PECC, seeking to join GATT and/or MFA; attempting to retain membership in ICAC, ISO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IWC—International Wheat Council, PCA; suspended from IAEA in 1972, but still allows [AEA controls over extensive atomic development

National holiday

10 October

Nationality

noun—Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective—Chinese

West Bank—to be determined; Gaza Strip—to be determined

Organized labor

(1983) 1.8 million or about 18.4% (government controlled) Administration

Population

19,768,035, excluding the population of Chin-men Tao (Quemoy), Ma-tsu Tao (Matsu), and foreigners (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.24%

total, 1,529,235 July 1987); average annual growth rate 2.57%; West Bank (including East Jerusalem)—969,386 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.27%; Gaza Strip—559,849 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.09%

Religion

98% mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist; 4.5% Christian; 2.5% other

West Bank—80% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 12% Jewish, 8% Christian and other; Gaza Strip—99% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 0.8% Christian, 0.2% Jewish

Suffrage

universal over age 20

Type

one-party presidential regime; the new political organizations bill (due to be passed in early 1987) will permit legal formation of new political parties

Voting strength

(1983 Legislative Yuan elections) 62 seats Kuomintang, 19 seats independents; 1981 local elections, with 63% turnout of eligible voters, Kuomintang received 71% of the popular vote, nonKuomintang 29%

Agriculture

rice, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, citrus fruits; food shortages—wheat, corn, soybeans

olives, citrus, and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products

Aid

US authorizations, including Ex-Im (FY46-82), $4.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-84), $414 million

Budget

central government expenditure, $42.5 billion (FY83)

within the occupied territories, each municipality has its own budget; the following data represent the sum of the revenues and expenditures of the municipalities in each area for fiscal year beginning 1 April 1984; West Bank—revenues, $26.7 million and expenditures, $27.1 million; Gaza Strip— revenues, $14.2 million and expenditures, $18.2 million

Electric power

16,200,000 kW capacity; 54,000 million kWh produced, 2,760 kWh per capita (1986)

the Israel Electric Corporation, Ltd., exported 285 million kWh during 1985 (exported is understood to mean power provided to occupied territories); West Bank—bulk of installed capacity contained in two diesel power plants: Jerusalem-Shoufat plant (22,000 kW), which is owned and operated by the East Jerusalem Electric Co., and Nablus plant (19,600 kW), which is owned and operated by the Nablus municipality; total estimated capacity for all West Bank power plants is 45,000 kW (1985); 59 million kWh produced (1985), 63 kWh per capita (1986); Gaza Strip—no known installed capacity; power probably obtained from Israel

Exports

$30.4 billion (f.0.b., 1984 est.); 20.5% textiles, 18.8% electrical machinery, 9% general machinery and equipment, 9% telecommunications equipment, 7.4% basic metals and metal products, 5.4% foodstuffs, 2.5% plywood and wood products

West Bank—$184.5 million (1984); Gaza Strip—$114.9 million (1984)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Fishing

catch 930,582 metric tons (1983)

GNP

$60.0 billion (1985), $3,110 per capita; 8.0% real growth (1986)

West Bank—$1.1 billion (1983); Gaza Strip—$550 million (1983)

Imports

$21.6 billion (c.i-f., 1984 est.); 25% machinery and equipment, 17.7% crude oil, 11.9% chemical and chemical products, 6.7% basic metals, 6.3% foodstuffs

West Bank—$406.8 million (1984); Gaza Strip—$279.4 million (1984)

Major industries

textiles, clothing, chemicals, electronics, food processing, plywood, sugar milling, cement, shipbuilding

the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers (3 in West Bank and J in Gaza Strip); generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs

Major trade partners

exports—49% US, 10% Japan; imports—29% Japan, 23% US, 8.6% Saudi Arabia (1983)

West Bank—Jordan and Israel; Gaza Strip—Egypt and Israel

Monetary conversion rate

NT (New Taiwan) 40.39 dollars=US$1 (September 1985)

West Bank— units of currency used are Israeli new sheqalim (1.1788=US$1, 1985 average), Jordanian dinar (0.884=US$1, 1984 average) and US dollar; Gaza Strip—aunits of currency used are Israeli new sheqalim (1.1788=US$1, 1985 average), Egyptian pound (1.48=US$1, February 1984 average), and US dollar

Natural resources

small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos

Airfields

41 total; 89 usable; 34 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m, 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 8 with runways 1,2202,439 m Taiwan (China listed in alphabetic order) (continued)

West Bank—2 total, 2 usable with permanent-surface runways, 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; Gaza Strip—1 total, 1 usable with permanent-surface runways

HABITAT

United Nations Center for Human Settlements

Highways

network totals 18,800 km (15,800 km are bituminous or concrete surface); 2,500 km are crushed stone or gravel surface; and 500 km are graded earth

West Bank—small, poorly developed indigenous road network, Israelis have improved major axial highways; Gaza Strip—small, poorly developed indigenous road network, Israelis have improved major axial highways

Pipelines

615 km refined products, 97 km natural gas

Ports

5 major (Kao-hsiung, Chi-lung, Hua-lien, Su-ao, and T’ai-tung), 4 minor (Tan-shui, T’ai-nan, Ta-p’eng, and Makung)

West Bank—none (landlocked), Gaza Strip—facilities for small boats to service Gaza

Railroads

West Bank—none; Gaza Strip—one line, abandoned

Telecommunications

very good international and domestic service; 5.1 million telephones () per 3.5 popl.); about 100 radio broadcast stations with 270 AM and 12 FM transmitters; 12 TV stations and 6 repeaters; 8 million radio receivers and 3.6 million TV receivers; 2 INTELSAT ground stations; tropospheric scatter links to Hong Kong and the Philippines available but inactive; submarine cables to Okinawa (Japan), the Philippines, Guam, Singapore, and Hong Kong

West Bank— planned telephone system currently being upgraded, no local radio or TV stations; Gaza Strip—no local radio or TV stations Main committees Standing and procedural committees Other subsidiary organs of the General Assembly

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNDP

United Nations Development Program

UNFPA

United Nations Fund for Population Activities United Nations Special Fund World Food Council Based on a chart trom the UN Chronicle

United Nations Fund for Population Activities United Nations Special Fund World Food Council Based on a chart trom the UN Chronicle

UNHCR

United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF

United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNEP; United Nations Environment Program

UNRWA,

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

UNU

United Nations University

WEP

World Food Program Instn for Trotting oad institute for Research

Branches

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Combined Services Force

Military budget

announced expenditures for national defense for fiscal year ending 80 June 1987, $4.2 billion; about 37.1% of central government budget; however, total military expenditures may be closer to $4.7 billion or about 50% of the central government budget West Bank and Gaza Strip §0 km Nablus s Boundary representation ts not necessanly authoritative WESY BANK ilsraeli oceupied— Status to Jerusalem cetnaniill Meditarranean See STRIP (isrseli occupied — Stetus to be determined) See regiona! map V1

Military manpower

males 15-49, 5,528,000; 4,337,000 fit for military service; about 186,000 currently reach military age (19) annually

Note

The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with Israel in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, and the Golan Heights. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by the President’s 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are ta be negotiated among the concerned parties. Camp David further specifies that these negotiations will resolve the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has yet to be determined. In the view of the United States, the term West Bank describes all of the area west of the Jordan River under Jordanian administration before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. However, with respect to negotiations envisaged in the framework agreement, it is US policy that a distinction must be made between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank because of the city’s special status and circumstances. Therefore, a negotiated solution for the final status of Jerusalem could be different in character from that of the rest of the West Bank.