Chile (2005) | Israel (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso
note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica |
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,062,735/female 1,970,913)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 5,320,870/female 5,342,771) 65 years and over: 8% (male 534,737/female 748,886) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
27.36% (male 831,523; female 792,982) 15-64 years: 62.73% (male 1,869,114; female 1,855,707) 65 years and over: 9.91% (male 253,105; female 335,662) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 364 (2004 est.) | 55 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 71
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 15 (2004 est.) |
total:
30 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 293
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 217 (2004 est.) |
total:
25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 756,950 sq km
land: 748,800 sq km water: 8,150 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez |
total:
20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation. | 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. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. 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. On 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. |
Birth rate | 15.44 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $21.53 billion
expenditures: $19.95 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.33 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$40 billion expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Santiago | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
Climate | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 6,435 km | 273 km |
Constitution | 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989, 1993, and 1997 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile |
conventional long form:
State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
Death rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $44.6 billion (2004 est.) | $38 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Craig A. KELLY
embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago mailing address: APO AA 34033 telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600 FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Martin S. INDYK embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Unit 7228, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575 FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Andres BIANCHI
chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746 FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David IVRY 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, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian gas and other commodities; Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims | 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; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $0 (2002) | $1.1 billion from the US (1999) |
Economy - overview | Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.1% in 2001 and 2.1% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Chile's economy began a slow recovery in 2003, growing 3.2% and accelerated to 5.8% in 2004. GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment. Unemployment, however, remains stubbornly high. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. | 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. Cuts 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 topped 750,000 during the period 1989-99, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth of the total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, 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 5.9% in 2000. But the outbreak of Palestinian unrest in late September and the collapse of the BARAK Government - coupled with a cooling off in the high-technology and tourist sectors - undercut the boom and foreshadows a slowdown to 2%-3% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.8 billion kWh (2002) | 31.899 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 1.061 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.813 billion kWh (2002) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 48.6 billion kWh (2004) | 35.437 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
99.89% hydro: 0.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 |
Ethnic groups | white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2% | 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.) |
Exchange rates | Chilean pesos per US dollar - 609.37 (2004), 691.43 (2003), 688.94 (2002), 634.94 (2001), 539.59 (2000) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16 January 2000 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68% |
chief of state:
President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 2 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2005); prime minister elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 6 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - in March 1992, the Knesset approved legislation, effective in 1996, which allowed for the direct election of the prime minister, but in 2001 the Knesset voted to restore the previous method under which the legislators will choose the next prime minister after the next legislative elections in 2003 election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON elected prime minister; percent of vote - Ariel SHARON 62.5%, Ehud BARAK 37.4%; note - after the next legislative elections scheduled for 2003, the prime minister will be elected by the Knesset |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2003) | $31.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals, wine | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | US 14%, Japan 11.4%, China 9.9%, South Korea 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1%, Brazil 4.3%, Italy 4.1%, Mexico 4% (2004) | US 36%, UK 6%, Benelux 5%, Hong Kong 4%, Netherlands 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence; design was influenced by the US flag | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $110.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.3%
industry: 38.2% services: 55.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 37% services: 59% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2004 est.) | 5.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 30 00 S, 71 00 W | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions | there are 231 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 (August 2000 est.) |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 79,605 km
paved: 16,080 km (including 407 km of expressways) unpaved: 63,525 km (2001) |
total:
15,965 km paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 47% (2000) |
lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 26.9% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | important transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the US; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone, but a new anti-money-laundering law improves controls; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan |
Imports | 221,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | $35.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, electrical and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles, natural gas | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Argentina 17%, US 14%, Brazil 11.2%, China 7.4% (2004) | US 20%, Benelux 11%, Germany 8%, UK 8%, Switzerland 6%, Italy 5% (1999) |
Independence | 18 September 1810 (from Spain) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.8% (2004 est.) | 7% (2000) |
Industries | copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
7.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 0.1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 18,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is elected by the 21-member court); Constitutional Tribunal | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 6.2 million (2004 est.) | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13.6%, industry 23.4%, services 63% (2003) | public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 6,171 km
border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km |
total:
1,006 km border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.42% other: 96.93% (2001) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 6% other: 66% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country with the final stage of implementation in the Santiago metropolitan region expected in June 2005 |
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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (48 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated members, and 1 former president who has served a full six-year term and is senator for life); elected members serve eight-year terms (one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI 35, RN 22, independent 1 |
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - One Israel 20.2%, Likud Party 14.1%, Shas 13%, MERETZ 7.6%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 5.1%, Shinui 5%, Center Party 5%, National Religious Party 4.2%, United Torah Judaism 3.7%, United Arab List 3.4%, National Union 3%, Hadash 2.6%, Yisra'el Beiteinu 2.6%, Balad 1.9%, One Nation 1.9%, Democratic Movement NA (party formed after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list); seats by party - One Israel 26, Likud Party 19, Shas 17, MERETZ 10, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 4, Shinui 6, Center Party 6, National Religious Party 5, United Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 5, National Union 4, Hadash 3, Yisra'el Beiteinu 4, Democratic Movement 2 (party formed after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list), Balad 2, One Nation 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.58 years
male: 73.3 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
78.71 years male: 76.69 years female: 80.84 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2% male: 96.4% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | South America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm |
continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 725,216 GRT/954,519 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 1, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 4 registered in other countries: 21 (2005) |
total:
17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,582 GRT/745,011 DWT ships by type: container 16, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes naval air, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps), Chilean Air Force, Chilean Carabineros (National Police) | Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.42 billion (2004) | $8.7 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2004) | 9.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,522,003 females age 15-49: 1,482,027 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,245,757 females age 15-49: 1,208,973 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
49,206 females: 53,379 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 September (1810) | 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 |
Nationality | noun: Chilean(s)
adjective: Chilean |
noun:
Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts |
Natural resources | copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand, oil |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,583 km; gas/lpg 42 km; liquid petroleum gas 539 km; oil 1,003 km; refined products 757 km (2004) | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC (including National Renewal or RN [Sebastian PINERA] and Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR], Socialist Party or PS [Gonzalo MARTNER], Party for Democracy or PPD [Victor BARRUETO], Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS]); Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN] | Balad or National Democratic Alliance [Amnon LIPKIN-SHAHAK]; Center Party [Yitzhak MORDECHAI]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Hadash [Muhammad BARAKA]; Labor Party [leader vacant]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; MERETZ [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [leader NA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Rehavam ZEEVI] (includes Herut, Tekuma, and Moledet); One Israel [leader NA] (includes Labor, Gesher, and Meimad); One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Rabbi Eliezer SHACK, spiritual leader]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | revitalized university student federations at all major universities; Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations | Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy |
Population | 15,980,912 (July 2005 est.) | 5,938,093 (July 2001 est.)
note: includes about 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, about 6,900 in the Gaza Strip, and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (2000) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.97% (2005 est.) | 1.58% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antofagasta, Arica, Huasco, Iquique, Lirquen, San Antonio, San Vicente, Valparaiso | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 180 (eight inactive), FM 64, shortwave 17 (one inactive) (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 6,585 km
broad gauge: 2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total:
610 km standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish NEGL% | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations international: country code - 56; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.467 million (2002) | 2.8 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,445,700 (2002) | 2.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 63 (plus 121 repeaters) (1997) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.5% (2004 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |