West Bank (2001) | Sweden (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarnas, Gavleborgs, Gotlands, Hallands, Jamtlands, Jonkopings, Kalmar, Kronobergs, Norrbottens, Orebro, Ostergotlands, Skane, Sodermanlands, Stockholms, Uppsala, Varmlands, Vasterbottens, Vasternorrlands, Vastmanlands, Vastra Gotalands |
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:
18.19% (male 828,308; female 786,353) 15-64 years: 64.53% (male 2,911,949; female 2,814,730) 65 years and over: 17.28% (male 649,296; female 884,417) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 255 (2000 est.) |
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:
147 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
108 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 103 (2000 est.) |
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:
449,964 sq km land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than California |
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. | A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements has recently been undermined by high unemployment, rising maintenance costs, and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe caused Sweden not to join the EU until 1995, and to forgo the introduction of the euro in 1999. |
Birth rate | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$133 billion expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Stockholm |
Climate | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,218 km |
Constitution | - | 1 January 1975 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Sweden conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | Swedish krona (SEK) |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $66.5 billion (1994) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lyndon Lowell OLSON, Jr. embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5750 (pouch) telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (8) 661 19 64 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jan ELIASSON chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1702 telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600 FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) |
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. | Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole twentieth century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and 2% of the jobs. In recent years, however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been somewhat clouded by budgetary difficulties, high unemployment, and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with those of the EU, which it joined at the start of 1995. GDP growth is forecast for 4% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 128.819 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 15.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 8.35 billion kWh (1999) |
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 | 146.633 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel:
5.53% hydro: 47.24% nuclear: 45.42% other: 1.81% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks |
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) | Swedish kronor per US dollar - 9.4669 (January 2001), 9.1622 (2000), 8.2624 (1999), 7.9499 (1998), 7.6349 (1997), 6.7060 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977) head of government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON (since 21 March 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; prime minister elected by the Parliament; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 votes |
Exports | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | $95.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 10%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%, France 5%), US 9%, Norway 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | calendar year |
Flag description | - | blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $197 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
2.2% industry: 27.9% services: 69.9% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 62 00 N, 15 00 E |
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.) | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
210,760 km paved: 162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways) unpaved: 48,053 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.7% highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
Imports | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | $80 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | EU 67% (Germany 18%, UK 10%, Denmark 7%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1999) |
Independence | - | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (2000 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 | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 29 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,150 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) |
Labor force | NA | 4.4 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total:
2,205 km border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 68% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Legal system | - | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 36.5%, Moderates 22.7%, Left Party 12%, Christian Democrats 11.8%, Center Party 5.1%, Liberal Party 4.7%, Greens 4.5%; seats by party - Social Democrats 131, Moderates 82, Left Party 43, Christian Democrats 42, Center Party 18, Liberal Party 17, Greens 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
79.71 years male: 77.07 years female: 82.5 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1979 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas) |
Merchant marine | - | total:
167 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,205,370 GRT/1,663,091 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 31, combination ore/oil 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 29, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 40, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 17 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | NA | Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $5 billion (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,062,566 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,803,995 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
51,506 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Flag Day, 6 June |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun:
Swede(s) adjective: Swedish |
Natural hazards | droughts | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic |
Natural resources | arable land | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 84 km |
Political parties and leaders | - | Center Party [Lennart DALEUS]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Communist Workers' Party [Rolf HAGEL]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokesperson is Briger SCHLAUG]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Gudrun SCHYMAN]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Bo LUNDGREN]; New Democracy Party [Vivianne FRANZEN]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON] |
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.) |
8,875,053 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 0.02% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall |
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 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | 8.25 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways) standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist |
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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic system domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cables carry most of the voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay systems carry some additional telephone channels international: 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 6.017 million (December 1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3.835 million (October 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,052 km
note: navigable for small steamers and barges |