Compare Luxembourg (2004) - Israel (2006)

Compare Luxembourg (2004) z Israel (2006)

	Luxembourg (2004)	Israel (2006)

Administrative divisions	3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg	6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Age structure	0-14 years: 19% (male 45,422; female 42,638) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 155,519; female 151,891) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 26,981; female 40,239) (2004 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, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products	citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Airports	2 (2003 est.)	53 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)	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: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2006)
Area	total: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Rhode Island	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background	Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.	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	12.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	17.97 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $11.82 billion expenditures: $12.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $43.82 billion expenditures: $58.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Luxembourg	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	modified continental with mild winters, cool summers	temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	273 km
Constitution	17 October 1868, occasional revisions	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: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg	conventional long form: State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el
Currency	euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries	-
Death rate	8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$75.55 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Peter TERPELUK, Jr. embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01	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 Arlette CONZEMIUS-PACCOURD chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco	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	none	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, $147 million (2002)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$662 million from US (2003 est.)
Economy - overview	This stable, high-income economy features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living.	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	6.07 billion kWh (2001)	39.67 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	744 million kWh (2001)	1.47 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	6.389 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	457 million kWh (2001)	44.24 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Moselle River 133 m highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Environment - current issues	air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland	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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification	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	Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers)	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 - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)	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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP	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	634 bbl/day (2001)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass	machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners	Germany 23.3%, France 19%, Belgium 10.4%, UK 9.1%, Italy 6.8%, Spain 4.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2003)	US 36.5%, Belgium 8.7%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France	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 - $25.01 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.5% industry: 16.6% services: 82.9% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 2.6% industry: 31.7% services: 65.7% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $55,100 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2003 est.)	5.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	49 45 N, 6 10 E	31 30 N, 34 45 E
Geography - note	landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world	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	1 (2003 est.)	3 (2006)
Highways	total: 5,189 km paved: 5,189 km (including 114 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	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	50,700 bbl/day (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods	raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Belgium 29%, Germany 22.9%, France 11.4%, China 10.9%, Netherlands 4.8% (2003)	US 13.4%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 6.4%, UK 5.7%, Switzerland 5.5%, China 4.2% (2005)
Independence	1839 (from the Netherlands)	14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate	1.7% (2003 est.)	2.8% (2005 est.)
Industries	banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum	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: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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)	2% (2003 est.)	1.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, 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	40 sq km (includes Belgium) (1998 est.)	1,940 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch	Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
Labor force	200,000 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2003)	2.42 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 1.9%, industry 8%, services 90.1% (1999 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: 359 km border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 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: 23.28% permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% (includes Belgium) (2001)	arable land: 15.45% permanent crops: 3.88% other: 80.67% (2005)
Languages	Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)	Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Legal system	based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	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 Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister	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: 78.58 years male: 75.31 years female: 82.07 years (2004 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	Western Europe, between France and Germany	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Map references	Europe	Middle East
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 652,454 GRT/805,101 DWT by type: chemical tanker 11, container 8, liquefied gas 4, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: Belgium 7, Denmark 1, Finland 3, France 3, Germany 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 5, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 7, United States 3 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)	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	Army	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	$231.6 million (2003)	$9.45 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.9% (2003)	7.7% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 115,721 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 95,107 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 2,601 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June	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: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg	noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli
Natural hazards	NA	sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources	iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land	timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Net migration rate	8.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 155 km (2004)	gas 193 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYOEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties	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	ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union)	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	462,690 (July 2004 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	1.28% (2004 est.)	1.18% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mertert	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)	AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 274 km standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified) (2003)	total: 853 km standard gauge: 853 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Religions	87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000)	Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 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 and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)	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	355,400 (2002)	2,936,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	473,000 (2002)	7.757 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	5 (1999)	17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast	Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Total fertility rate	1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.)	2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.6% (2003 est.)	9% (2005 est.)
Waterways	37 km (on Moselle River) (2003)	-

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