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Compare Sierra Leone (2001) - Israel (2003)

Compare Sierra Leone (2001) z Israel (2003)

 Sierra Leone (2001)Israel (2003)
 Sierra LeoneIsrael
Administrative divisions 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Age structure 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326)

15-64 years:
52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155)

65 years and over:
3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 842,885; female 803,864)


15-64 years: 63.2% (male 1,941,440; female 1,922,512)


65 years and over: 9.9% (male 260,315; female 345,517) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Airports 11 (2000 est.) 52 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total:
1

over 3,047 m:
1 (2000 est.)
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:
10

914 to 1,523 m:
7

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
total: 24


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area total:
71,740 sq km

land:
71,620 sq km

water:
120 sq km
total: 20,770 sq km


land: 20,330 sq km


water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. 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 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 18.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues:
$96 million

expenditures:
$351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $38.5 billion


expenditures: $45.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Capital Freetown 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; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Coastline 402 km 273 km
Constitution 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times 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 Sierra Leone

conventional short form:
Sierra Leone
conventional long form: State of Israel


conventional short form: Israel


local long form: Medinat Yisra'el


local short form: Yisra'el
Currency leone (SLL) new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS
Death rate 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $1.28 billion (1999) $42.8 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr.

embassy:
Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[232] (22) 226481 through 226485

FAX:
[232] (22) 225471
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 John Ernest LEIGH

chancery:
1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263

FAX:
[1] (202) 483-1793
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON


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, and San Francisco
Disputes - international civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia 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 $203.7 million (1995) $720 million from US (2001 est.)
Economy - overview Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. 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 significant 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 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; growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 7.2% in 2000, but 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.
Electricity - consumption 223.2 million kWh (1999) 37.82 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 1.457 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 240 million kWh (1999) 42.24 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 99.9%


hydro: 0.1%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Environment - current issues rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing 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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected 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 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians 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 leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.74 (2002), 4.21 (2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999), 3.8 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms

election results:
Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5%
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 $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) US 39.2%, Belgium 6.5%, Germany 4.4%, UK 4.2% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue 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 - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $117.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
43%

industry:
26%

services:
31% (1999)
agriculture: 3%


industry: 30%


services: 67% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.2% (2000 est.) -0.8% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 30 N, 11 30 W 31 30 N, 34 45 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
Heliports 1 (2000 est.) 3 (2002)
Highways total:
11,300 km

paved:
904 km

unpaved:
10,396 km (1997)
total: 16,281 km


paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways)


unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.5%

highest 10%:
43.6% (1989)
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
Imports $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
Imports - partners UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) US 21.6%, Belgium 8.9%, Germany 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Switzerland 4.9%, Italy 4.5% (2002)
Independence 27 April 1961 (from UK) 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate NA% -1.5% (2002 est.)
Industries mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining 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 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.14 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15% (2000 est.) 5.7% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), 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, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 21 (2000)
Irrigated land 290 sq km (1993 est.) 1,990 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)
Labor force 1.369 million (1981 est.)

note:
only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
2.5 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996)
Land boundaries total:
958 km

border countries:
Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 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:
7%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
31%

forests and woodland:
28%

other:
33% (1993 est.)
arable land: 17.02%


permanent crops: 4.17%


other: 78.81% (1998 est.)
Languages English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Legal system based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted 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 House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 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:
45.6 years

male:
42.69 years

female:
48.61 years (2001 est.)
total population: 79.02 years


male: 76.95 years


female: 81.19 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic

total population:
31.4%

male:
45.4%

female:
18.2% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 95.4%


male: 97.3%


female: 93.6% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Map references Africa Middle East
Maritime claims territorial sea:
200 NM

continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT

ships by type:
cargo 1 (2000 est.)
total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 705,897 GRT/823,605 DWT


ships by type: container 17, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Army 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 $46 million (FY96/97) $8.97 billion (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2% (FY96/97) 8.75% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 1,562,716


females age 15-49: 1,516,505


note: both sexes are liable for military service (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 1,279,277


females age 15-49: 1,237,926 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 51,080


females: 53,496 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 27 April (1961) 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:
Sierra Leonean(s)

adjective:
Sierra Leonean
noun: Israeli(s)


adjective: Israeli
Natural hazards dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
Net migration rate 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

note:
by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning
1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 100 km; oil 1,509 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Green Leaf Party [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; 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 Trade Unions and Student Unions 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 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) 6,116,533 (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.) (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 68% (1989 est.) 18% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 3.61% (2001 est.) 1.39% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios 1.12 million (1997) -
Railways total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed

narrow gauge:
84 km 1.067-m gauge
total: 640 km


standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)
Religions Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.)
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
0.96 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service

domestic:
national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001)

international:
satellite earth station - 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 17,000 (1997) 2.8 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular 650 (1999) 2.5 million (1999)
Television broadcast stations 2 (1999) 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995)
Terrain coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Total fertility rate 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.5 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 10.4% (2002 est.)
Waterways 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) none
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