2000 Edition

Background

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes 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 took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh 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 Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus.

Area

land

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

5,860 sq km

water

220 sq km

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

highest point

Tall Asur 1,022 m

lowest point

Dead Sea -408 m

Environment - current issues

adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Geographic coordinates

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Geography - note

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.)

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

border countries

Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

total

404 km

Land use

arable land

27%

forests and woodland

1%

other

40%

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

32%

Location

Middle East, west of Jordan

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

arable land

Terrain

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (male 463,644; female 440,211) 15-64 years: 52% (male 531,711; female 511,256) 65 years and over: 3% (male 32,107; female 41,369) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

36.73 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Infant mortality rate

22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

73.86 years (2000 est.)

male

70.39 years

total population

72.08 years

Literacy

definition

NA

female

NA%

male

NA%

total population

NA%

Nationality

adjective

NA

noun

NA

Net migration rate

1.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

2,020,298

note

in addition, there are some 171,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 172,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

3.38% (2000 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population

1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.02 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

West Bank

Data code

WE

Agriculture - products

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Budget

expenditures

$1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (includes Gaza Strip) (1999 est.)

revenues

$1.6 billion

Currency

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

Debt - external

$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$800 million pledged (includes Gaza Strip) (1999)

Economy - overview

Economic conditions in the West Bank - where economic activity is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority - have deteriorated since the early 1990s. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and robust population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious negative social effect of this downturn has been the emergence of chronic unemployment; average unemployment rates in the WBGS during the 1980s were generally under 5%; by the mid-1990s this level had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. In October 1999, Israel permitted the opening of a safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the 1995 Interim Agreement. These changes in the conduct of economic activity have fueled a moderate economic recovery in 1998-99.

Electricity - consumption

NA kWh

Electricity - exports

NA kWh

Electricity - imports

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

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

NA%

hydro

NA%

nuclear

NA%

other

NA%

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 4.2260 (November 1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996), 0.7005 (1995)

Exports

$682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports - commodities

olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

33%

industry

25%

services

42% (includes Gaza Strip) (1995 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,050 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.6% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

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)

5% (includes Gaza Strip) (1999 est.)

Labor force

NA

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 13%, industry 13%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12%, construction 8%, other services 54% (1996)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

14.5% (includes Gaza Strip) (1998 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

8 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

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 - main lines in use

95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular

NA

Television broadcast stations

NA

Televisions

NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)

Airports

2 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Highways

note

Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements

paved

2,700 km

total

4,500 km

unpaved

1,800 km (1997 est.)

Ports and harbors

none

Railways

0 km

Military branches

NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

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

WESTERN SAHARA