West Bank (2001) | Portugal (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 874,198; female 825,742)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 3,326,957; female 3,461,425) 65 years and over: 16% (male 651,697; female 962,003) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 66 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 40
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
Area | 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 |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986. |
Birth rate | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | - | Lisbon |
Climate | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,793 km |
Constitution | - | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $13.1 billion (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
Disputes - international | 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 | Portugal has periodically reasserted claims to territories around the town of Olivenza, Spain |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) |
Economic aid - recipient | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) | - |
Economy - overview | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-03. GDP per capita stands at 70% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 41.48 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 3.479 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 3.743 billion kWh (2001) |
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; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 44.32 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 64.5%
hydro: 31.3% nuclear: 0% other: 4.1% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 6 April 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1% |
Exports | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | 28,830 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Spain 20.3%, Germany 18.4%, France 12.6%, UK 10.5%, US 5.8%, Italy 4.8%, Belgium 4.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | calendar year |
Flag description | - | two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $195.2 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 28.7% services: 67.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | 0.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Highways | total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 1441 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | 357,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Spain 28.1%, Germany 15%, France 10.2%, Italy 6.5%, UK 5.2%, Netherlands 4.5% (2002) |
Independence | - | 1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
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 | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 6,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | NA | 5.1 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74% other: 71.69% (1999 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
Legal system | - | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.35 years
male: 72.86 years female: 80.07 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 132 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 993,325 GRT/1,533,255 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 62, chemical tanker 18, container 7, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 3, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, UK 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | NA | Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $1.286 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.2% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,520,852 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,017,678 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 67,816 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | droughts | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | arable land | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 482 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | The Greens or PEV [no leader]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO]; United Democratic Coalition or CDU [Carlos CARVALHAS]; The Left Bloc [no leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
10,102,022 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 0.17% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
general assessment: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned |
Telephones - main lines in use | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 5.3 million (yearend 1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3,074,194 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.49 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |