1996 Edition

Location

32 00 N, 35 15 E -- Middle East, west of Jordan

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than Delaware

land area

5,640 sq km

note

includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967

total area

5,860 sq km

Climate

temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues

NA

international agreements

NA

natural hazards

NA

Geographic coordinates

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Geographic note

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 202 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 26 in East Jerusalem (August 1995 est.)

International disputes

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

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

border countries

Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

total

404 km

Land use

arable land

27%

forest and woodland

1%

meadows and pastures

32%

other

40%

permanent crops

0%

Location

Middle East, west of Jordan

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural resources

NEGL

Terrain

mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

highest point

Tall Asur 1,022 m

lowest point

Dead Sea -408 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (male 332,628; female 315,968) 15-64 years: 51% (male 368,180; female 362,880) 65 years and over: 4% (male 20,495; female 27,590) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

38.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

4.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Infant mortality rate

28.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

73.44 years (1996 est.)

male

70.17 years

total population

71.76 years

Literacy

NA

Nationality

adjective

NA

noun

NA

Net migration rate

15.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

1,427,741 (July 1996 est.)

note

in addition, there are 127,600 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and 153,700 in East Jerusalem (August 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

4.99% (1996 est.)

Religions

Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

Sex ratio

all ages

1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

5.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Data code

WE

Government note

Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, 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 has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. A transfer of powers and responsibilities in certain spheres for the rest of the West Bank has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 29 August 1994 Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities. A transfer of powers and responsibilities in additional areas of the West Bank has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim 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 Israelis. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations within five years.

Name of country

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

West Bank

Agriculture

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

Budget

$NA

Currency

1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Economic aid

note

$410 million (est.) disbursed from international aid pledged in 1995 (includes aid to Gaza Strip)

recipient

ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by Israeli military administration and the effects of the Palestinian uprising (intifadah). Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable investment have been discouraged by a lack of local capital and restrictive Israeli policies. Capital investment consists largely of residential housing, not productive assets that would enable local Palestinian firms to compete with Israeli industry. GDP has been substantially supplemented by remittances of workers employed in Israel and Persian Gulf states. Such transfers from the Gulf dropped after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, many Palestinians have returned to the West Bank, increasing unemployment, and export revenues have dropped because of the decline of markets in Jordan and the Gulf states. The area's economic situation has worsened since Israel imposed stringent border restrictions in 1995 and 1996.

Electricity

capacity

NA kW

consumption per capita

NA kWh

note

most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

production

NA kWh

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.1295 (January 1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7090 (January 1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991)

Exports

$116 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities

olives, fruit, vegetables

partners

Jordan, Israel

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

33%

industry

7%

services

60% (1995 est., includes Gaza Strip)

GDP per capita

$2,500 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

3%-4% (1995 est.)

Imports

$791 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

commodities

food, consumer goods, construction materials

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)

14% (1995 est.)

Labor force

NA

by occupation

construction 28.2%, agriculture 21.8%, industry 14.5%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12.6%, other services 22.9% (1991)

note

excluding Israeli settlers

Unemployment rate

25%-30% (1995 est.)

Branches

NA

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

NA

males fit for military service

NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

NA; note - 82% of Palestinian households have radios (1992 est.)

Telephone system

domestic

NA

international

NA

note

Israeli company BEZEK is responsible for communication services in the West Bank

Telephones

NA

note

8% of Palestinian households have telephones (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

note

1 broadcast station is planned for Jericho

Televisions

NA; note - 54% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

2

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

1

with paved runways under 914 m

1 (1995 est.)

Highways

note

small road network; Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements

paved

NA km

total

NA km

unpaved

NA km

Ports

none

Railways

0 km