Iraq (2003) | Israel (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.7% (male 5,103,669; female 4,946,443)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 7,033,268; female 6,855,644) 65 years and over: 3% (male 348,790; female 395,499) (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 150 (2002); note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war | 54 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 77
over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 73
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen have ruled the country since then, the latest being SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government. | 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. |
Birth rate | 33.66 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Baghdad | 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 | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 58 km | 273 km |
Constitution | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | 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 Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | Iraqi dinar (IQD) | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
Death rate | 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $120 billion (2002 est.) | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453 FAX: [972] (3) 517-4390 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 | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-3607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, disputes with Iran over maritime and land boundaries, navigation channel, and other issues from eight-year war persist; land and Shatt al Arab boundary demarcation put an end to claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, but no maritime boundary exists with Kuwait in the Persian Gulf; Iraq protests Turkey's hydrological projects to regulate the Tigris and Euphrates rivers upstream | 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 | $327.5 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program beginning in December 1996 helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999 the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Oil exports have recently been more than three-quarters prewar level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program have been deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per capita output and living standards were still well below the prewar level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure and the loss of a comparatively small amount of capital plant. | 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. 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 influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99 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 6.4% in 2000. But the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, increasingly the declines in the high-technology and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity measures in the face of growing inflation have led to declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 33.49 billion kWh (2001) | 34.897 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.27 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 12 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 36.01 billion kWh (2001) | 38.876 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 98.4%
hydro: 1.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unamed peak 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification | 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: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% | 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 | Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 0.31 (2002), 0.31 (2001), 0.31 (2000), 0.31 (1999), 0.31 (1998), note: fixed official rate since 1982; market rate subject to wide fluctuations | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | chief of state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA 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 last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) 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 continues 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 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $28 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | US 40.9%, Canada 8.2%, France 8.2%, Jordan 7.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Italy 5.4%, Morocco 4.7%, Spain 4.4% (2002) | US 42.8%, Benelux 7.4%, Hong Kong 6.8%, Germany 4.8%, UK 4.8%, Japan 3.2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria which has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band | 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 - $58 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $122 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -3% (2002 est.) | -1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 44 00 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf | 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 |
Heliports | 5 (2002) | 3 (2002) |
Highways | total: 45,550 km
paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (2000 est.) |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 28% (1992) (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan |
Imports | NA (2001) | $30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, medicine, manufactures | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Jordan 11%, France 8.8%, China 8.4%, Germany 7.6%, Russia 7.3%, Australia 7.2%, Vietnam 6.6%, Italy 6.4%, Japan 5.6% (2002) | US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001) |
Independence | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -1.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing | 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: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 70% (2002 est.) | 5.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 6.5 million (2002 est.) | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | public services 31%, manufacturing 20%, finance and business 13%, commerce 13%, construction 8%, personal and other services 6%, transport, storage, and communications 6%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3% (1996) (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 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: 11.89%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 87.33% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | 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 | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 67.81 years
male: 66.7 years female: 68.99 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.86 years
male: 76.82 years female: 81.01 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4% male: 55.9% female: 24.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 119,433 GRT/170,221 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 595,319 GRT/704,544 DWT
ships by type: container 15, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Fedayeen Saddam; note - with the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the data listed in the following entries for Iraq is invalid, but is retained here for historical purposes and until replaced by valid information related to the future Iraqi Government (April 2003) | Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY00) | $8.97 billion (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 8.75% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,339,458 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,542,835
females age 15-49: 1,499,830 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,541,467 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,262,973
females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 292,930 (2003 est.) | males: 51,666
females: 49,207 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) | 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: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms, floods | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2003) | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
Political parties and leaders | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Herut [michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR]; Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON] (includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | 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 | 24,683,313 (July 2003 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.78% (2003 est.) | 1.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,963 km
standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | formerly 18 years of age; universal; note - in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: an unknown number of telecommunication facilities were damaged during the March-April 2003 war
domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
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 | 675,000 (1997); note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April war | 2.8 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA; service available in northern Iraq (2001) | 2.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (1997); note - unknown number were destroyed during the March-April 2003 war | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 4.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 1,015 km
note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war |
none |