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Compare Nicaragua (2003) - Israel (2002)

Compare Nicaragua (2003) z Israel (2002)

 Nicaragua (2003)Israel (2002)
 NicaraguaIsrael
Administrative divisions 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Age structure 0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)


15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991)


65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (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 coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Airports 176 (2002) 54 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 3 (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: 165


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 141 (2002)
total: 24


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area total: 129,494 sq km


land: 120,254 sq km


water: 9,240 sq km
total: 20,770 sq km


land: 20,330 sq km


water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than the state of New York slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. 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 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $726 million


expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $40 billion


expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital Managua 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 in lowlands, cooler in highlands temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Coastline 910 km 273 km
Constitution 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua


conventional short form: Nicaragua


local long form: Republica de Nicaragua


local short form: Nicaragua
conventional long form: State of Israel


conventional short form: Israel


local long form: Medinat Yisra'el


local short form: Yisra'el
Currency gold cordoba (NIO) new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Death rate 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $5.8 billion (2002 est.) $42.8 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE


embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua


mailing address: APO AA 34021


telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013


FAX: [505] 266-9074
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 chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)


chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570


FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542


consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York
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 territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica 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 Substantial foreign support NA
Economy - overview Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. 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 2.388 billion kWh (2001) 34.897 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 1.27 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 17 million kWh (2001) 12 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 2.549 billion kWh (2001) 38.876 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 83.9%


hydro: 7.7%


nuclear: 0%


other: 8.4% (2001)
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


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 mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 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 gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998) 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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)


election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
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 coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern 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 - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $122 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 30%


industry: 26%


services: 44% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 3%


industry: 30%


services: 67% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.1% (2002 est.) -1.1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 13 00 N, 85 00 W 31 30 N, 34 45 E
Geography - note largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua 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 - 3 (2002)
Highways total: 19,032 km


paved: 2,094 km


unpaved: 16,938 km (2000)
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%: 0.7%


highest 10%: 48.8% (1998)
lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 28% (1992) (1997)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing 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 machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods
Imports - partners US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001)
Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain) 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate 4.4% (2000 est.) -1.5% (2002 est.)
Industries food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood 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: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.7% (2002 est.) 5.7% (2002 est.)
International organization participation BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO 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) 3 (2000) 21 (2000)
Irrigated land 880 sq km (1998 est.) 1,990 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)
Labor force 1.7 million (1999) 2.4 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) 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: 1,231 km


border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 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: 20.24%


permanent crops: 2.38%


other: 77.38% (1998 est.)
arable land: 17.02%


permanent crops: 4.17%


other: 78.81% (1998 est.)
Languages Spanish (official)


note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Legal system civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts 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 National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)


election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1
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: 69.68 years


male: 67.68 years


female: 71.79 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: 67.5%


male: 67.2%


female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 95%


male: 97%


female: 93% (1992 est.)
Location Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Middle East
Maritime claims continental shelf: natural prolongation


territorial sea: 200 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine none (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, Navy, Air 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 $26 million (FY98) $8.97 billion (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 8.75% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (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: 825,906 (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: 59,903 (2003 est.) males: 51,666


females: 49,207 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 15 September (1821) 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: Nicaraguan(s)


adjective: Nicaraguan
noun: Israeli(s)


adjective: Israeli
Natural hazards destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Net migration rate -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines oil 54 km (2003) crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km
Political parties and leaders Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] 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 National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses
Population 5,128,517 (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 50% (2001 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.03% (2003 est.) 1.48% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Radio broadcast stations AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios - 3.07 million (1997)
Railways total: 6 km


narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002)
total: 647 km


standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001)
Religions Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 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: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1 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 16 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment


domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System


international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 140,000 (1996) 2.8 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular 7,911 (1997) 2.5 million (1999)
Television broadcast stations 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)
Terrain extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Total fertility rate 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) 10.4% (2002 est.)
Waterways 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) none
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