New Caledonia (2007) | Israel (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Province des Iles, Province Nord, and Province Sud | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 31,578/female 30,270)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 72,821/female 72,109) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 7,047/female 8,118) (2007 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 | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 25 (2007) | 54 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2007) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct as many as three referenda between 2013 and 2018, to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence. | 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 | 17.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996 million
expenditures: $1.072 billion (2001 est.) |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 273 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
Death rate | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | territorial collectivity of France since 1998 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | 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 | none (overseas territory of France) | 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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | 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 | $524.3 million annual subsidy from France (2004) | NA |
Economy - overview | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than 15% of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. | 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 | 1.403 billion kWh (2005) | 34.897 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.27 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 12 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.508 billion kWh (2005) | 38.876 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | 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: 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 | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | 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 | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.025 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002) | 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: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by High Commissioner Yves DASSONVILLE (since 9 November 2007)
head of government: President of the Government Harold MARTIN (since 7 August 2007) cabinet: Cabinet consisting of 11 members elected from and by the Territorial Congress elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress for a five-year term (no term limits); note - last election held 7 August 2007 when Harold MARTIN was elected following the resignation of Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU as president on 24 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) |
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 bbl/day | $28 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | Japan 17.8%, Taiwan 14.9%, France 13.7%, China 11.1%, Spain 9.7%, Belgium 7.5%, Italy 6.2%, Australia 4.7% (2006) | 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 | the flag of France is used | 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 - $122 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 8.8% services: 76.2% (2003) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls | 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 | 6 (2007) | 3 (2002) |
Highways | - | 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 bbl/day | $30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | France 38.9%, Singapore 15.3%, Australia 11.4%, NZ 4.8% (2006) | US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | -1.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | 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: 7.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2000 est.) | 5.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ITUC, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WFTU, WMO | 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) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (2003) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 78,990 (2004) | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002) |
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 | 0 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: 0.32%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005) |
arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | based on French civil law; the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands | 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 Territorial Congress or Congres du territoire (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds one seat in the French Senate; by 2010, New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; New Caledonia also elects two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held on June 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
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: 74.5 years
male: 71.52 years female: 77.63 years (2007 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: 96.2% male: 96.8% female: 95.5% (1996 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,566 GRT/2,543 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
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 - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | 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 | - | $8.97 billion (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 8.75% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | 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: 1,262,973
females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002 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.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | 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: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2007 est.) |
2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caledonian Union or UC; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independence) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] | 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 | NA | 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 | 221,943 (July 2007 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 | 1.203% (2007 est.) | 1.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | 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: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.009 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,300 (2005) | 2.8 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 134,300 (2005) | 2.5 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 repeaters) (1997) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.1% (2004) | 10.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |