Compare Finland (2007) - Israel (2006)

Compare Finland (2007) z Israel (2006)

	Finland (2007)	Israel (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani	6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Age structure	0-14 years: 16.9% (male 449,548/female 433,253) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,768,996/female 1,727,143) 65 years and over: 16.4% (male 344,798/female 514,722) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 26.3% (male 855,054/female 815,619) 15-64 years: 63.9% (male 2,044,135/female 2,016,647) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 266,671/female 353,991) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish	citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Airports	148 (2007)	53 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 76 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 15 (2007)	total: 30 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 6 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 72 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 68 (2007)	total: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2006)
Area	total: 338,145 sq km land: 304,473 sq km water: 33,672 sq km	total: 20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background	Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.	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. 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 Palestinian-Israeli violence between September 2000 and February 2005. An agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005 significantly reduced the violence. The election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT, the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism coalition government in January 2005, and the successful Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip (August-September 2005), presented an opportunity for a renewed peace effort. However, internal Israeli political events between October and December 2005 have destabilized the political situation and forced early elections, scheduled for March 2006.
Birth rate	10.42 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.97 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $109.6 billion expenditures: $101.8 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $43.82 billion expenditures: $58.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Helsinki geographic coordinates: 60 10 N, 24 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	name: Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv geographic coordinates: 32 05 N, 34 48 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
Climate	cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes	temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Coastline	1,250 km	273 km
Constitution	1 March 2000	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 Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland local short form: Suomi/Finland	conventional long form: State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el
Death rate	9.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$251.9 billion (30 June 2006)	$75.55 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn WARE embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 616250 FAX: [358] (9) 6162 5800	chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES 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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Pekka LINTU chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	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
Disputes - international	various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands	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
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $850.5 million (2005)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$662 million from US (2003 est.)
Economy - overview	Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important; exports equal two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. High unemployment remains a persistent problem.	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 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 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 bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy rebounded in 2003 and 2004, growing at a 4% rate each year, as the government tightened fiscal policy and implemented structural reforms to boost competition and efficiency in the markets. In 2005, rising consumer confidence, tourism, and foreign direct investment - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 4.7%.
Electricity - consumption	81.11 billion kWh (2005)	39.67 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	933 million kWh (2005)	1.47 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	17.92 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	67.09 billion kWh (2005)	44.24 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations	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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.2%, Sami 0.1%	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)
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Jyrki KATAINEN (since 19 April 2007) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2012); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment; Prime Minister VANHANEN reelected 17 April 2007 election results: percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 46.3%, Sauli NIINISTO (Kok) 24.1%, Matti Vanhanen (Kesk) 18.6%, Heidi HAUTALA (VIHR) 3.5%; a runoff election between HALONEN and NIINISTO was held 29 January 2006 - HALONEN 51.8%, NIINISTO 48.2%; Matti VANHANEN relected prime minister; election results 121-71 note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP	chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI (since May 2006) 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 (no term limits); election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition election results: Moshe KATZAV 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 continued as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union; controversy surrounding SHARON's disengagement plan ultimately led to the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism (UTJ) coalition government in January 2005
Exports	118,300 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999)	machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners	Germany 11.3%, Sweden 10.5%, Russia 10.1%, UK 6.5%, US 6.5%, Netherlands 5.1% (2006)	US 36.5%, Belgium 8.7%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish 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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 2.5% industry: 32.3% services: 65.1% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 2.6% industry: 31.7% services: 65.7% (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.9% (2006 est.)	5.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	64 00 N, 26 00 E	31 30 N, 34 45 E
Geography - note	long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain	there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2005 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source
Heliports	-	3 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 4% highest 10%: 22.6% (2000)	lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 28.3% (1997)
Illicit drugs	-	increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center
Imports	333,400 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains	raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Germany 15.6%, Russia 14%, Sweden 13.7%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 5.4%, UK 4.7%, Denmark 4.5% (2006)	US 13.4%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 6.4%, UK 5.7%, Switzerland 5.5%, China 4.2% (2005)
Independence	6 December 1917 (from Russia)	14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate	3% (2006 est.)	2.8% (2005 est.)
Industries	metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing	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
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.6% (2006 est.)	1.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	640 sq km (2003)	1,940 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)	Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
Labor force	2.65 million (2006 est.)	2.42 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture and forestry 4.4%, industry 17.5%, construction 6%, commerce 22%, finance, insurance, and business services 12%, transport and communications 8%, public services 30.2% (2000 est.)	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)
Land boundaries	total: 2,681 km border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km	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
Land use	arable land: 6.54% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 93.44% (2005)	arable land: 15.45% permanent crops: 3.88% other: 80.67% (2005)
Languages	Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)	Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Legal system	civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	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	unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 18 March 2007 (next to be held March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 23.1%, Kok 22.3%, SDP 21.4%, VAS 8.8%, VIHR 8.5%, KD 4.9%, SFP 4.5%, True Finns 4.1%, other 3.4%; seats by party - Kesk 51, Kok 50, SDP 45, VAS 17, VIHR 15, SFP 9, KD 7, True Finns 5, other 1	unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 29 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.66 years male: 75.15 years female: 82.31 years (2007 est.)	total population: 79.46 years male: 77.33 years female: 81.7 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Map references	Europe	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm) contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 92 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,362,014 GRT/1,002,280 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 26, chemical tanker 6, container 3, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 23, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 5 (Germany 2, Norway 1, Sweden 2) registered in other countries: 43 (Bahamas 8, Germany 4, Gibraltar 3, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 14, Norway 1, Sweden 10, UK 1) (2007)	total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 716,382 GRT/845,053 DWT by type: cargo 2, container 16 registered in other countries: 51 (Bahamas 1, Bermuda 3, Cyprus 3, Honduras 1, Liberia 5, Malta 23, Panama 6, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Slovakia 7) (2006)
Military branches	Finnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army, Navy (includes coastal defense forces), Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) (2006)	Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Army Headquarters, Israel Navy, Israeli Air and Space Force (ISAF, includes air defense forces); historically there have been no separate Israeli military services (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$9.45 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2% (2005 est.)	7.7% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 December (1917)	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: Finn(s) adjective: Finnish	noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli
Natural hazards	NA	sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources	timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone	timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Net migration rate	0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 694 km (2006)	gas 193 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green Party or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS [Martti KORHONEN] (composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative); National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Stefan WALLIN]; True Finns	Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKA]; GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael EITAN]; Kadima [Ehud OLMERT]; Labor Party [Amir PERETZ]; Likud Party [Binyamin NETANYAHU]; Meretz-YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Union (NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON]; SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah and Shabbat Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSOUR]; Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]; Yisrael Ba'Aliya (merged with Likud)
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses
Population	5,238,460 (July 2007 est.)	6,352,117 note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	21% (2005)
Population growth rate	0.127% (2007 est.)	1.18% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 5,741 km broad gauge: 5,741 km 1.524-m gauge (2,619 km electrified) (2006)	total: 853 km standard gauge: 853 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Religions	Lutheran Church of Finland 84.2%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003)	Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.958 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system with excellent service domestic: digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs international: country code - 358; submarine cables provide links to Estonia and Sweden; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)	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: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.92 million (2006)	2,936,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	5.67 million (2006)	7.757 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999)	17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills	Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Total fertility rate	1.73 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	7% (2006 est.)	9% (2005 est.)
Waterways	7,842 km note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2006)	-

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