Israel
State of IsraelMedinat Yisra'el
parliamentary democracy
Israel as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 137 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted.
On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule.
Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine.
However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. An Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005, along with an internally-brokered Palestinian ceasefire, significantly reduced the violence. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip.
The election of HAMAS in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006; following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July 2006 and a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006, he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of the West Bank. OLMERT in June 2007 resumed talks with the PA after HAMAS seized control of the Gaza Strip and PA President Mahmoud ABBAS formed a new government without HAMAS.
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
20 fieldsLand useshare of 20,770 sq km
Natural resources
timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)
- per capita:
- 305 cu m/yr (2000)
Environment - current issues
- limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints;
- desertification;
- air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
- groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note
- there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.);
- Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source
People
21 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Note
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
Religions(2004)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.77 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups
Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
Languages
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Government
Parliamentary democracy; President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007); Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Knesset, 120 seats, elected 28 March 2006one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- State of Israel
- conventional short form:
- Israel
- local long form:
- Medinat Yisra'el
- local short form:
- Yisra'el
Capital
- name:
- Jerusalem
- geographic coordinates:
- 31 46 N, 35 14 E
- time difference:
- UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
- daylight saving time:
- +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
Administrative divisions
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
National holiday
Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May
Constitution
- no formal constitution;
- some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law;
- note - since May 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution
Legal system
- mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems;
- in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006);
- Deputy Prime Minister Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI;
- note - Prime Minister OLMERT resigned on 17 September 2008, but will serve as acting prime minister until a new government is formed
- cabinet:
- Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
- elections:
- president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term (one-term limit);
- election last held 13 June 2007 (next to be held in 2014 but can be called earlier);
- following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition
note: government coalition - Kadima, Labor Party, GIL (Pensioners), and SHAS
- election results:
- Shimon PERES elected president;
- number of votes in first round - Shimon PERES 58, Reuven RIVLIN 37, Colette AVITAL 21;
- PERES elected president in second round with 86 votes (unopposed)
Legislative branch
unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
- elections:
- last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in February 2009)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - Kadima 22%, Labor 15.1%, SHAS 9.5%, Likud 9%, Yisrael Beiteinu 9%, NU/NRP 7.1%, GIL 5.9%, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 4.7%, Meretz-YAHAD 3.8%, United Arab List 3%, Balad 2.3%, HADASH 2.7%, other 5.9%;
- seats by party - Kadima 29, Labor 19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3, HADASH 3
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
Political parties and leaders
- Balad [Azmi BISHARA];
- Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKEH];
- GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael "Rafi" EITAN];
- Kadima [Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI];
- Labor Party [Ehud BARAK];
- Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU];
- Meretz-Yachad [Haim ORON];
- National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Jamal ZAHALKA];
- National Union (NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON];
- SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI];
- Torah and Shabbat Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN];
- United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSUR];
- Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses;
- Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
- YESHA Council of Settlements [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise
International organization participation
BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Salai MERIDOR
- chancery:
- 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 364-5500
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 364-5607
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador James B. CUNNINGHAM
- embassy:
- 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903
- mailing address:
- PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830
- telephone:
- [972] (3) 519-7575
- FAX:
- [972] (3) 516-4390
- consulate(s) general:
- Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government
Flag description
white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag
Economy
Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation.
51 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2007 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, 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 imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade 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, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, has grown by about 5% per year since 2003.
The economy grew an estimated 5.4% in 2007, the fastest pace since 2000. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment, tax revenues, and private consumption, setting the economy on a solid growth path.
Industries
high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
Imports - commodities
raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
Currency (code)
- new Israeli shekel (ILS);
- note - NIS is the currency abbreviation;
- ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS
Exchange rates
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
- domestic:
- good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;
- all systems are digital;
- four privately-owned mobile-cellular service providers with countrywide coverage;
- mobile-cellular teledensity is 140 per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 972;
- submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East;
- satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2007)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Merchant marine
- total:
- 11
- by type:
- cargo 2, container 9
- registered in other countries:
- 60 (Bermuda 3, Cyprus 4, Georgia 2, Honduras 1, Liberia 23, Malta 18, Panama 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Slovakia 4) (2008)
Military
Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (INF), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2007)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (INF), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2007)
Military service age and obligation
- 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service;
- both sexes are obligated to military service;
- conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers;
- reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2008)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 1,717,362
- females age 16-49:
- 1,636,574 (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsDisputes - 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;
- Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank;
- Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005;
- Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights);
- since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2007)
Illicit drugs
- increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse;
- drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan;
- money-laundering center
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Israel.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/israel/2008.