Compare Svalbard (2005) - West Bank (2008)

Compare Svalbard (2005) z West Bank (2008)

	Svalbard (2005)	West Bank (2008)

Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800) 15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports	4 (2004 est.)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)	-
Area	total: 62,049 sq km land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)	total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than West Virginia	slightly smaller than Delaware
Background	First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.	The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented 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. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008.
Birth rate	NA births/1,000 population	30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $11.5 million expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.)	revenues: $1.149 billion expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)
Capital	Longyearbyen	-
Climate	arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline	3,587 km	0 km (landlocked)
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)	conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$NA
Dependency status	territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway	-
Disputes - international	despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone	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 from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; 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 - recipient	$8.2 million from Norway (1998)	$1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox.	The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance.
Electricity - consumption	-	NA kWh
Electricity - imports	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues	NA	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Ethnic groups	Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates	Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000)	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice	-
Exports	$NA	$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Exports - commodities	-	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners	-	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of Norway is used	-
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 8% industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	-8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	78 00 N, 20 00 E	32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note	northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area	landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
Highways	total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	$NA	$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Imports - commodities	-	food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners	-	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Norway)	-
Industrial production growth rate	-	2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Industries	-	generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006)
International organization participation	none	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Labor force	NA	605,000 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 18% industry: 15% services: 67% (2006)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2001)	arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages	Norwegian, Russian	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system	NA	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years	total population: 73.46 years male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)
Location	Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway	Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references	Arctic Region	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 4 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia	none (landlocked)
Military - note	demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
National holiday	NA	-
Nationality	-	noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards	ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic	droughts
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish	arable land
Net migration rate	NA migrant(s)/1,000 population	2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Population	2,701 (July 2005 est.)	2,535,927 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	46% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.02% (2005 est.)	2.985% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)
Religions	-	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Sex ratio	NA%	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Telephone system	general assessment: probably adequate domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)	general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations	NA	30 (2008)
Terrain	wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate	NA children born/woman	4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	18.6% (2006)

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