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| Map |  |
| Location | Middle East, west of Jordan |
| Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
| Map references | Middle East |
| Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km
water: 220 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 |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware |
| Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
| Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
| Natural resources | arable land |
| Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97%
other: 64.13% (2001) |
| Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) |
| Natural hazards | droughts |
| Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
| Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) |
| Population | 2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.) |
| Median age | total: 18.3 years
male: 18.2 years
female: 18.5 years (2006 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 3.06% (2006 est.) |
| Birth rate | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Death rate | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years
female: 75.15 years (2006 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA |
| Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
| Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
| Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
| Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9%
male: 96.3%
female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
| Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $1.8 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $1,100 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.) |
| Labor force | 614,000 (April-June 2005) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24%
services: 57.6% (April-June 2005) |
| Unemployment rate | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005) |
| Population below poverty line | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004) |
| Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
| 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 |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% |
| 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 - consumption | NA kWh |
| Electricity - imports | NA kWh |
| Exports | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) |
| Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
| Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) |
| Imports | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) |
| Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
| Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) |
| Debt - external | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $2 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.) |
| Currency (code) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
| Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2004) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 974,300 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2004) |
| Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services
international: country code - 970 |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) |
| Internet country code | .ps |
| Internet users | 160,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004) |
| Airports | 3 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Roadways | total: 4,158 km
paved: 4,158 km
note: includes Gaza Strip (2003) |
| 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; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; 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 | refugees (country of origin): 699,817 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2005) |