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Compare West Bank (2007) - Kosovo (2008)

Compare West Bank (2007) z Kosovo (2008)

 West Bank (2007)Kosovo (2008)
 West BankKosovo
Administrative divisions - 30 municipalities (komunat, singular - komuna in Albanian; opstine, singular - opstina in Serbian); Decan (Decani), Dragash (Dragas), Ferizaj (Urosevac), Fushe Kosove (Kosovo Polje), Gjakove (Dakovica), Gllogoc/Drenas (Glogovac), Gjilan (Gnjilane), Istog (Istok), Kacanik, Kline (Klina), Kamenice/Dardana (Kamenica), Leposaviq (Leposavic), Lipjan (Lipljan), Malisheve (Malisevo), Mitrovice (Mitrovica), Novoberde (Novo Brdo), Obiliq (Obilic), Peje (Pec), Podujeve (Podujevo), Prishtine (Pristina), Prizren, Rahovec (Orahovac), Shtime (Stimlje), Shterpce (Strpce), Skenderaj (Srbica), Suhareke (Suva Reka), Viti (Vitina), Vushtrri (Vucitrn), Zubin Potok, Zvecan
Age structure 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 NA
Airports 3 (2007) 10 (2008)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 4 (2008)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 4


under 914 m: 4 (2008)
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: 10,887 sq km


land: 10,887 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Delaware slightly larger than Delaware
Background The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) 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. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. 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 has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have 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 withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four 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 has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century, but did not fully incorporate them into the Serbian realm until the early 13th century. The Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule, during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War (1912), and after World War II (1945) the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz TITO reorganized Kosovo as an autonomous province within the constituent republic of Serbia. Over the next four decades, Kosovo Albanians lobbied for greater autonomy and Kosovo was granted the status almost equal to that of a republic in the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. Despite the legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s leading to nationalist riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. Serbs in Kosovo complained of mistreatment and Serb nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan MILOSEVIC, exploited those charges to win support among Serbian voters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland. Under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia instituted a new constitution in 1989 that drastically curtailed Kosovo's autonomy and Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent from Serbia. The MILOSEVIC regime carried out repressive measures against the Albanians in the early 1990s as the unofficial government of Kosovo, led by Ibrahim RUGOVA, tried to use passive resistance to gain international assistance and recognition of its demands for independence. In 1995, Albanians dissatisfied with RUGOVA's nonviolent strategy created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency. In 1998, MILOSEVIC authorized a counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians by Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces. The international community tried to resolve the conflict peacefully, but MILOSEVIC rejected the proposed international settlement - the Rambouillet Accords - leading to a three-month NATO bombing of Serbia beginning in March 1999, which forced Serbia to withdraw its military and police forces from Kosovo in June 1999. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. Under the resolution, Serbia's territorial integrity was protected, but it was UNMIK who assumed responsibility for governing Kosovo. In 2001, UNMIK promulgated a Constitutional Framework, which established Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), and in succeeding years UNMIK increasingly devolved responsibilities to the PISG. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's future status. Negotiations held intermittently between 2006 and 2007 on issues related to decentralization, religious heritage, and minority rights failed to yield a resolution between Serbia's willingness to grant a high degree of autonomy and the Albanians' call for full independence for Kosovo. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared its independence from Serbia.
Birth rate 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) -
Budget revenues: $1.23 billion


expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005)
revenues: $893.2 million


expenditures: $796.6 million (2006 est.)
Capital - name: Pristina (Prishtine)


geographic coordinates: 42 40 N, 21 10 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters influenced by continental air masses resulting in relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns; Mediterranean and alpine influences create regional variation; maximum rainfall between October and December
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution - Constitutional Framework of 2001; note - the Kosovo Government is charged with putting forward an AHTISAARI (UN Special Envoy) Plan-compliant draft of a new constitution soon after independence
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: West Bank
conventional long form: Republic of Kosovo


conventional short form: Kosovo


local long form: Republika e Kosoves (Republika Kosova)


local short form: Kosova (Kosovo)


former: Kosovo i Metohija, Autonomna Pokrajina
Death rate 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) -
Debt - external $NA Serbia continued to pay Kosovo's external debt, which it claimed was around $1.2 billion; Kosovo was willing to accept around $900 million, according to the national bank of Serbia (2007)
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; 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 Serbia with several other states protest the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers under UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo; Kosovo authorities object to alignment of the Kosovo boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement
Economic aid - recipient $1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) $252 million (2006)
Economy - overview The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents 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 since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Kosovo's economy has largely transitioned to a market-based system but is highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Remittances from the diaspora - located mainly in Germany and Switzerland - account for about 30% of GDP. Kosovo's citizens are the poorest in Europe with an average per capita income of only $1900 - about one-third the level of neighboring Albania. Unemployment - at 50% of the population - is a severe problem that encourages outward migration. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common - the result of small plots, limited mechanization, and lack of technical expertise. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets. Minerals and metals - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once formed the backbone of industry, but output has declined because investment is insufficient to replace ageing Eastern Bloc equipment. Technical and financial problems in the power sector also impede industrial development, and deter foreign investment. Economic growth is largely driven by the private sector - mostly small-scale retail businesses. Both the euro and the Serbian dinar circulate. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep inflation low. Kosovo has maintained a budget surplus as a result of efficient tax collection and inefficient spending. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment. In order to help integrate Kosovo into regional economic structures, UNMIK signed (on behalf of Kosovo) its accession to the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 4.281 billion kWh (2006)
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 3.996 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
lowest point: Drini i Bardhe/Beli Drim 297 m (located on the border with Albania)


highest point: Gjeravica/Deravica 2,565 m
Environment - current issues adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment -
Ethnic groups Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma, Turk)
Exchange rates new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002) Serbian dinars per US dollar - 54.5 (2008 est.)
Executive branch - chief of state: President Fatmir SEJDIU (since 10 February 2006)


head of government: Prime Minister Hashim THACI (since 9 January 2008)


cabinet: ministers; elected by the Kosovo Assembly


elections: the president is elected for a 5-year term by the Kosovo Assembly; the prime minister is elected by the Kosovo Assembly


election results: Fatmir SEJDIU and Hashim THACI elected to be president and prime minister respectively by the Assembly
Exports $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) $13.08 million (2006)
Exports - commodities olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone scrap metals, mining and processed metal products, plastics, wood
Exports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 56% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description - centered on a dark blue field is the shape of Kosovo in a gold color surmounted by six white, five-pointed stars - each representing one of the major ethnic groups of Kosovo - arrayed in a slight arc
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 8%


industry: 18.2%


services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)
agriculture: NA


industry: NA


services: NA
GDP - real growth rate 4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) 2.6% (2007)
Geographic coordinates 32 00 N, 35 15 E 42 35 N, 21 00 E
Geography - note 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.) -
Heliports - 2 (2008)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
-
Imports $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) $84.99 million (2006)
Imports - commodities food, consumer goods, construction materials petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and electrical equipment
Imports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 48% (2006)
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 NA
Infant mortality rate 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) 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 2% (2007 est.)
Irrigated land 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) -
Judicial branch - Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG); district courts judges are appointed by the SRSG; municipal courts judges are appointed by the SRSG
Labor force 568,000 (2005) 832,000 (June 2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 16%


industry: 29%


services: 55% (2005)
agriculture: 21.4%


industry: NA


services: NA (2006)
Land boundaries total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
total: 700.7 km


border countries: Albania 111.8 km, Macedonia 158.7 km, Montenegro 78.6 km, Serbia 351.6 km
Land use arable land: 16.9%


permanent crops: 18.97%


other: 64.13% (2001)
-
Languages Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) Albanian, Serbian, Bosniak, Turkish
Legal system - evolving legal system based on terms of UN Special Envoy Martii AHTISAARI's Plan for Kosovo's supervised independence
Legislative branch - unicameral Kosovo Assembly of the Provisional Government (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats for Serbs, 10 seats for other minorities; to serve three-year terms)


elections: last held 17 November 2007 (next to be held NA)


election results: percent of vote by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 34.3%, Democratic League of Kosovo 22.6%, New Kosovo Alliance 12.3%, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 10.0%, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 9.6%; seats by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 37, Democratic League of Kosovo 25, New Kosovo Alliance 13, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 11, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 10
Life expectancy at birth total population: 73.46 years


male: 71.68 years


female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)
-
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 92.4%


male: 96.7%


female: 88% (2004 est.)
-
Location Middle East, west of Jordan Southeast Europe, between Serbia and Macedonia
Map references Middle East Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA -
Nationality noun: NA


adjective: NA
noun: Kosovoan


adjective: Kosovoan
Natural hazards droughts -
Natural resources arable land nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome, bauxite
Net migration rate 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) -
Political parties and leaders - Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Kososvo and Metohija or SDSKiM [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Autonomous Liberal Party of SLS [Slobodan PETROVIC]; Bosniak Vakat Coalition [ Dzezair MURATI]; Citizens' Initiative of Gora or GIG [Murselj HALILI]; Council of Independent Social Democrats of Kosovo or SNSDKIM [Ljubisa ZIVIC]; Democratic League of Dardania or LDD [Nexhat DACI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Fatmir SEJDIU]; Democratic Party of Ashkali of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Xhevdet Neziraj]; New Democratic Party or ND [Branislav GRBIC]; New Kosovo Alliance [Behgjet PACOLLI]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Reform Party Ora; Serb National Party or SNS [Mihailo SCEPANOVIC]; Serbian Kosovo and Metohija Party or SKMS [Dragisa MIRIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Numan BALIC]
Population 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.)
2,126,708 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 45.7% (2005) 30% (2006 est.)
Population growth rate 2.985% (2007 est.) -
Radio broadcast stations AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005) -
Railways - total: 430 km (2005)
Religions Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% Muslim, Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic
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: 0.736 male(s)/female


total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
-
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services


international: country code - 970 (2004)
-
Telephones - main lines in use 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 106,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 562,000 (2006)
Television broadcast stations 8 (2005) -
Terrain mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east flat fluvial basin with an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m
Total fertility rate 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) -
Unemployment rate 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 50% (2007 est.)
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