1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline
none--landlocked
Comparative area
slightly larger than Delaware
Disputes
Israeli occupied with status to be determined
Environment
highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers
Land boundaries
404 km total; Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km;
Land use
arable land 27%, permanent crops 0%, meadows and pastures 32%, forest and woodland 1%, other 40%
Maritime claims
none--landlocked
Natural resources
negligible
Note
landlocked; there are 175 Jewish settlements in the West Bank and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
Terrain
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total area
5,860 km2; land area: 5,640 km2; includes West Bank, East Jerusalem, Latrun Salient, Jerusalem No Man's Land, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus
People and Society
Birth rate
37 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Palestinian Arab and other 88%, Jewish 12%
Infant mortality rate
47 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
NA; excluding Israeli Jewish settlers--small industry, commerce, and business 29.8%, construction 24.2%, agriculture 22.4%, service and other 23.6% (1984)
Language
Arabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely understood
Life expectancy at birth
65 years male, 69 years female (1991)
Literacy
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Nationality
NA
Net migration rate
- 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
NA
Population
1,086,081 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991); in addition, there are 90,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and 120,000 in East Jerusalem (1990 est.)
Religion
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 80%, Jewish 12%, Christian and other 8%
Total fertility rate
4.9 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Long-form name
none
Note
The West Bank is currently governed by Israeli military authorities and Israeli civil administration. It is US policy that the final status of the West Bank will be determined by negotiations among the concerned parties. These negotiations will determine how the area is to be governed.
Economy
Agriculture
olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products
Budget
revenues $47.4 million; expenditures $45.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY86)
Currency
new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels) and Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot and 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Economic aid
none
Electricity
power supplied by Israel
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--2.35 (May 1991), 2.0161 (1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5989 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6670 (January 1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)
Exports
$150 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--NA; partners--Jordan, Israel
External debt
$NA
Fiscal year
previously 1 April-31 March; FY91 will be 1 April-31 December and starting 1 January 1992 the fiscal year will conform to the calendar year
GNP
$1.0 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate - 15% (1988 est.)
Imports
$410 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--NA; partners--Jordan, Israel
Industrial production
growth rate NA%
Industries
generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
Overview
Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by Israeli military occupation and the effects of the Palestinian uprising. Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable financial resources have been discouraged by a lack of financial resources and Israeli policy. Capital investment has largely gone into residential housing, not into productive assets that could compete with Israeli industry. A major share of GNP is derived from remittances of workers employed in Israel and neighboring Gulf states but remittances from the Gulf dropped dramatically in the wake of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Israeli reprisals against Palestinian unrest in the West Bank since 1987 have pushed unemployment up and lowered living standards. The Persian Gulf crisis of 1990-91 also dealt a blow to the economy. Many Palestinians returned from the Gulf, exacerbating unemployment. Export revenues have plunged because of the loss of export markets in Jordan and the Gulf.
Unemployment rate
40% (1990 est.)
Communications
Airports
2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Highways
small indigenous road network, Israelis developing east-west axial highways
Telecommunications
open-wire telephone system currently being upgraded; stations--no AM, no FM, no TV
Military and Security
Branches
NA
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 257,740; NA fit for military service