Edition 2003 — West Bank

Age structure

0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369) 15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Airports

3 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) Military West Bank

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

Background

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided 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 the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the 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. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Geography West Bank

Birth rate

34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Budget

expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million
note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
revenues: $930 million

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Country name

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank Economy West Bank

Currency

new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code

ILS; JOD

Death rate

4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Debt - external

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

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 This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

Economic aid - recipient

$800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Economy - overview

Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years 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. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy.

Electricity - consumption

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; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0%

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

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)

Exports

$603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip

Exports - commodities

olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

Fiscal year

calendar year (since 1 January 1992) Communications West Bank

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
services: 63%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-22% (2002 est.)

Geographic coordinates

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Geography - note

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) People West Bank

Highways

note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.)
paved: 2,700 km
total: 4,500 km
unpaved: 1,800 km

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA%

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Imports

$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip

Imports - commodities

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

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

Infant mortality rate

female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births
total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

8 (1999)

Internet users

60,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2001) Transportation West Bank

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Labor force

NA

Labor force - by occupation

services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Land boundaries

border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
total: 404 km

Land use

arable land: NEGL%
other: 100% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 0%

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female: 74.51 years (2003 est.)
male: 70.95 years
total population: 72.68 years

Literacy

definition: NA
female: NA% Government West Bank
male: NA%
total population: NA%

Location

Middle East, west of Jordan

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Median age

female: 18 years (2002)
male: 17.7 years
total: 17.9 years

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA% Transnational Issues West Bank

Nationality

adjective: NA
noun: NA

Natural hazards

droughts

Natural resources

arable land

Net migration rate

3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Population

2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.)

Population below poverty line

60% (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

3.3% (2003 est.)

Ports and harbors

none

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)

Radios

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

Railways

0 km

Religions

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

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

Telephone system

domestic: NA
general assessment: 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)

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate

50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)

Waterways