1998 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1998 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 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
Area-comparative
slightly smaller than Delaware
Climate
temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment-current issues
adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Environment-international agreements
party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates
32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography-note
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 207 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1997 est.)
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Land boundaries
total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use
arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40%
Location
Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references
Middle East
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
NA
Natural resources
NEGL
Terrain
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 359,848; female 342,173) 15-64 years: 52% (male 405,929; female 396,928) 65 years and over: 3% (male 21,853; female 30,188) (July 1998 est.)
Birth rate
36.65 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate
4.35 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Ethnic groups
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Infant mortality rate
26.35 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Languages
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.47 years male: 70.7 years female: 74.33 years (1998 est.)
Literacy
NA
Nationality
noun: NA adjective: NA
Net migration rate
4.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Population
1,556,919 (July 1998 est.) note: in addition, there are 155,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and 164,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1997 est.)
Population growth rate
3.71% (1998 est.)
Religions
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Sex ratio
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: 0.72 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.92 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Government
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Data code
WE
Economy
Agriculture-products
olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Budget
revenues: $684 million expenditures: $779 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996) note: includes Gaza Strip
Currency
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Debt-external
$51 million (1995)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA
Economy-overview
Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by tight Israeli security restrictions. Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable investment have been discouraged by a lack of local capital and Israeli policies that block the movement of goods and people. 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 workers who commute to jobs in Israel. Worker remittances from the Persian Gulf states 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. An estimated 147,000 people were in refugee camps in 1996.
Electricity-capacity
NA kW 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
Electricity-consumption per capita
NA kWh
Electricity-production
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
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1-3.5340 (December 1997), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1-0.7090 (January 1998), 0.7090 (1997), 0.7090 (1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993)
Exports
total value: $630 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) (includes Gaza Strip) commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone partners: Jordan, Israel
Fiscal year
calendar year (since 1 January 1992) Communications
GDP
purchasing power parity-$2.8 billion (1996 est.)
GDP-composition by sector
agriculture: 33% industry: 25% services: 42% (1995 est., includes Gaza Strip)
GDP-per capita
purchasing power parity-$1,600 (1996 est.)
GDP-real growth rate
-6.9% (1996 est.)
Imports
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.) (includes Gaza Strip) 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 price index
8.4% (1996 est.)
Labor force
NA by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 13%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12%, construction 8%, other services 54% (1996) note: excluding Israeli settlers
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 and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Telephones
NA note: 3.1% of Palestinian households have telephones
Television broadcast stations
about 25 low-powered stations
Televisions
NA; note-54% of Palestinian households have televisions (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
28% (1997 est.)
Transportation
Airports
2 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1997 est.)
Highways
total: 4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements Ports and harbors: none
Railways
0 km
Military and Security
Military branches
NA
Military expenditures-dollar figure
$NA
Military expenditures-percent of GDP
NA%
Transnational Issues
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