| Geographical Information |
| Map Location |
Middle East |
| Geographical Location |
31° 30' North Latitude
34° 45' East Longitude |
| Surface Area |
20,770 sq km |
| Climate |
Temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
| Natural Resources |
Timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
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| Political Information |
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| Country Name |
State of Israel |
| Capital City |
Jerusalem |
| Government Type |
Parliamentary democracy |
| Administrative Divisions |
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
| Independence Day |
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
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| Demographical Information |
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| Population |
6,276,883 (July 2005 est.) |
| Nationality |
Israeli |
| Ethnic Groups |
Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
| Religion |
Jewish 76.5%, Muslim 15.9%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2003) |
| Languages |
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
| Population Growth Rate |
1.2% (2005 est.) |
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| Economical Information |
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| Currency |
New Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS |
| 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 and footwear |
| Labor Force |
2.68 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor Force by Sectors |
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) |
| Agriculture Products |
Citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
| Export Commodities |
Machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
| Export Partners |
US 36.8%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2004) |
| Import Commodities |
Raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
| Import Partners |
US 15%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 7.5%, Switzerland 6.5%, UK 6.1% (2004) |
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| Transportation |
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| Railways |
640 km |
| Highways |
16,903 km |
| Pipelines |
Gas 140 km; oil 1,509 km (2004) |
| Airports |
51 (2004 est.) |
| Ports and Harbors |
Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
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| Communication |
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| Phone Code |
+972 |
| Internet Abbreviation |
.il |
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| Other |
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| Short History |
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 occupied by Israel 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.
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 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. On 24 June 2002, US President BUSH laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict
may have reached a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT. |
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