NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
State of Israel
Medinat Yisra'el
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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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. 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 (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
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Geographic coordinates:
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31 30 N, 34 45 E |
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Map references:
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Middle East |
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Area:
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total: 20,770 sq km
water: 440 sq km land: 20,330 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
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Coastline:
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273 km |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
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Terrain:
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Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
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Natural resources:
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timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
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Land use:
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arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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Geography - note:
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there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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6,029,529 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491; female 798,695)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,677; female 1,889,525) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.48% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.86 years
female: 81.01 years (2002 est.) male: 76.82 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.08% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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2,400 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100 (1999 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
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Ethnic groups:
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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.) |
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Religions:
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Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
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Languages:
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Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |