Tokelau (2002) | Israel (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (1996 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 855,054/female 815,619)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 2,044,135/female 2,016,647) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 266,671/female 353,991) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2001) | 53 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 6 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Area | total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence between September 2000 and February 2005. An agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005 significantly reduced the violence. The election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT, the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism coalition government in January 2005, and the successful Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip (August-September 2005), presented an opportunity for a renewed peace effort. However, internal Israeli political events between October and December 2005 have destabilized the political situation and forced early elections, scheduled for March 2006. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 17.97 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 |
revenues: $43.82 billion
expenditures: $58.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center | name: Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
geographic coordinates: 32 05 N, 34 48 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 101 km | 273 km |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 | 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: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 | $75.55 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903 mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575 FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission: Ambassador Salai MERIDOR
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region |
Economic aid - recipient | from New Zealand about $4 million annually | $662 million from US (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain, but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy rebounded in 2003 and 2004, growing at a 4% rate each year, as the government tightened fiscal policy and implemented structural reforms to boost competition and efficiency in the markets. In 2005, rising consumer confidence, tourism, and foreign direct investment - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 4.7%. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 39.67 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 1.47 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 44.24 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian | Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004) |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT (since May 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI (since May 2006) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition election results: Moshe KATZAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continued as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union; controversy surrounding SHARON's disengagement plan ultimately led to the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism (UTJ) coalition government in January 2005 |
Exports | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | NZ | US 36.5%, Belgium 8.7%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand 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 - $1.5 million (1993 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 31.7% services: 65.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2005 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
Heliports | - | 3 (2006) |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center |
Imports | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | NZ | US 13.4%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 6.4%, UK 5.7%, Switzerland 5.5%, China 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2005 est.) |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear |
Infant mortality rate | 38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 1.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) | BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,940 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70) |
Labor force | NA | 2.42 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6%, manufacturing 20.2%, construction 7.5%, commerce 12.8%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, finance and business 13.1%, personal and other services 6.4%, public services 31.2% (1996) |
Land boundaries | 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% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 15.45%
permanent crops: 3.88% other: 80.67% (2005) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | 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 General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono | unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Kadima 29, Labor 19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3, HADASH 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: 68 years (2001) female: 70 years (2001) |
total population: 79.46 years
male: 77.33 years female: 81.7 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 716,382 GRT/845,053 DWT
by type: cargo 2, container 16 registered in other countries: 51 (Bahamas 1, Bermuda 3, Cyprus 3, Honduras 1, Liberia 5, Malta 23, Panama 6, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Slovakia 7) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | - | Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Army Headquarters, Israel Navy, Israeli Air and Space Force (ISAF, includes air defense forces); historically there have been no separate Israeli military services (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $9.45 billion (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 7.7% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | 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: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | NEGL | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 193 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKA]; GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael EITAN]; Kadima [Ehud OLMERT]; Labor Party [Amir PERETZ]; Likud Party [Binyamin NETANYAHU]; Meretz-YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Union (NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON]; SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah and Shabbat Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSOUR]; Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]; Yisrael Ba'Aliya (merged with Likud) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 | 1,431 (July 2002 est.) | 6,352,117
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 21% (2005) |
Population growth rate | -0.92% (2002 est.) | 1.18% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 853 km
standard gauge: 853 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 2,936,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (2001) | 7.757 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 9% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |