West Bank (2003) | Vanuatu (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
36.35% (male 35,822; female 34,299) 15-64 years: 60.43% (male 59,764; female 56,808) 65 years and over: 3.22% (male 3,348; female 2,869) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 32 (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 (2002) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (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:
12,200 sq km land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than Connecticut |
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 the 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. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. | The British and French who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. |
Birth rate | 34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 25.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $930 million
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$94.4 million expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | - | Port-Vila |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,528 km |
Constitution | - | 30 July 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
Republic of Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | vatu (VUV) |
Death rate | 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $48 million (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN |
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 | claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia |
Economic aid - recipient | $800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | $45.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due 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 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%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years 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 violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy. | The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. The most recent natural disaster, a severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami, caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left thousands homeless. GDP growth has risen less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government is moving to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 32.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 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; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 35 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese, Chinese, Pacific Islanders |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | vatu per US dollar - 143.95 (December 2000), 137.82 (2000), 129.08 (1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997), 111.72 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President Father John BANI (since 25 March 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Edward NATAPEI (since 16 April 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Serge VOHOR (since 16 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a four-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 16 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Father John BANI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Edward NATAPEI elected prime minister by Parliament with a total of 27 out of 52 votes note: the government of Prime Minister Barak SOPE was ousted in a no confidence vote on 14 April 2001 and Edward NATAPEI was elected the new prime minister by Parliament |
Exports | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip | $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | copra, kava, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | Japan 32%, Germany 14%, Spain 8%, New Caledonia 7%, Australia 2% (1997 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | calendar year |
Flag description | - | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $245 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 9% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -22% (2002 est.) | -2.5% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 16 00 S, 167 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
total:
1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip | $77.2 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | Japan 52%, Australia 20%, New Caledonia, Singapore, New Zealand, France, Fiji (1997 est.) |
Independence | - | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1% (1997 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 | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
61.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | 2.5% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 75% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) |
Legal system | - | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VP 18, UMP 12, NUP 11, other and independent 11; note - political party associations are fluid; there have been four changes of government since the November 1995 elections note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.68 years
male: 70.95 years female: 74.51 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
60.95 years male: 59.58 years female: 62.39 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,067,384 GRT/1,330,543 DWT ships by type: bulk 23, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 7, vehicle carrier 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, France 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Japan 22, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, US 4 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; includes the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 30 July (1980) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun:
Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural) adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
Natural hazards | droughts | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes |
Natural resources | arable land | manganese, hardwood forests, fish |
Net migration rate | 3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [Willie TITONGOA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
192,910 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | 1.7% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
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 2, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 62,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 4,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 154 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.19 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |