Israel (2002) | Lesotho (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 54 (2001) | 28 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | 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. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
Birth rate | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv | Maseru |
Climate | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 273 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 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 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) | $735 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $41.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.897 billion kWh (2000) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.27 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 12 million kWh (2000) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | 38.876 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | 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.) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | 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) | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | $28 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | US 42.8%, Benelux 7.4%, Hong Kong 6.8%, Germany 4.8%, UK 4.8%, Japan 3.2% (2001) | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $122 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.1% (2002 est.) | 4% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 31 30 N, 34 45 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | 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 | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 3 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 15,965 km
paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 28% (1992) (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
Illicit drugs | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan | - |
Imports | $30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
Imports - partners | US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001) | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) |
Independence | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.5% (2002 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
Industries | 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 | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2002 est.) | 6.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 2.4 million (2000 est.) | 838,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | 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) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
Languages | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | 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 | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.86 years
male: 76.82 years female: 81.01 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
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Military - note | - | the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs |
Military branches | 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 | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; with Army and Air Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8.97 billion (FY02) | $32.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.75% (FY02) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,542,835
females age 15-49: 1,499,830 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,262,973
females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 51,666
females: 49,207 (2002 est.) |
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National holiday | 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 | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
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 | NA |
Population | 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.) |
1,865,040
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2002 est.) | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 3.07 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
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Religions | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.8 million (1999) | 28,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.5 million (1999) | 92,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.4% (2002 est.) | 45% (2002) |
Waterways | none | - |