Israel Location:
Physical. Israel is located in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea with Lebanon to the north, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the south and west. It covers an area slightly smaller than New Jersey. The climate is temperate with hot and dry conditions in the southern and eastern desert areas. Israel's terrain consists of the Negev desert in the south, low coastal plains, central mountains, and the Jordan Rift Valley. Natural resources include timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays and sand.
Israel Geography:
Area: 20,770 sq km
Capital: Jerusalem; (with the 2004 population estimated at 704,900) Note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Environmental concerns: limited arable land and natural fresh water resources; desertification; air pollution and groundwater pollution
Geographical features: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Climate: temperate with hot, dry desert areas in the south and east
Israel People:
People. Israel is home to over 6.3 million inhabitants (includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem - July 2006 est.) Israel recognizes Hebrew as its official language while Arabic is officially used by the Arab minority and English is the most commonly used foreign language. Ethnically, the population is composed of citizens who are Jewish (80%) and non-Jewish (20% mostly Arab). Major religions are: Judaism (77%), Islam (16% mostly Sunni Muslim), Arab Christian (2%) and Druze (2%).
6,352,000 (includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem; July 2006 est.) Jewish (80% - Europe/America-born 32%, Israel-born 21%, Africa-born 15%, Asia-born 13%); non-Jewish 20% (mostly Arab), (1996 est.)
Annual growth rate: 1.18% (2006 est.)
Major languages are Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, with English the most commonly used foreign language.
Religions: Jewish (77%), Muslim (16%), Arab Christians (2%), Druze (2%), unspecified (4%)
Israel Government:
Government. The country is officially known as the State of Israel and it has six districts. Its capital is Jerusalem. After World War II, the League of Nations partitioned the Palestinian area. Israel has no formal constitution, but is governed under the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset) and the Israeli citizenship law. The president is elected by the Knesset for a five-year term, while the prime minister is elected by popular vote to a four-year term. On May 14, 1948, Israel celebrated its establishment, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs in that area and followed by several wars that have not eased tensions. Various peace accords and treaties have seen much of the land acquired by Israel in its wars returned. In 2005 a governing coalition was formed by the Likud, Labor and United Torah Judaism parties, but the internal political situation in Israel prohibits any further peace accords.
Israel is a parliamentary democracy.
The chief of state is President Moshe Katzav (since July 2000) while the head of government is the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (since May 2006.
Universal suffrage at 18
Israel Communication:
Communication and transportation
3 million (2004) main telephone lines in use
3.2 million (2005) Internet users
17,237 km of roadways
640 km railroads
51 (2005) airfields
1.5 million motor vehicles (2004)
Israel Economy:
Economy. Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99 coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 6.4% in 2000. But the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the increasing declines in the high-technology and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity measures in the face of growing inflation have led to declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. In 2005, rising consumer confidence, tourism, and foreign direct investment - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 4.7%.
Currency: New Israeli shekel
Per capita GDP: $24,600 (2005 est.)
GDP: $154.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 5.2% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate: 1.3% (2005 est.)
Labor force: agriculture, forestry, and fishing (2.6%), manufacturing (20.2%), construction (7.5%), commerce (12.8%), transport, storage, and communications (6.2%), finance and business (13.1%), personal and other services (6.4%), public services (31.2%) (1996)
Israel More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
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