Compare West Bank (2007) - Netherlands (2005)

Compare West Bank (2007) z Netherlands (2005)

	West Bank (2007)	Netherlands (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
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.)	0-14 years: 18.1% (male 1,523,316/female 1,453,232) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,627,007/female 5,491,802) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 974,037/female 1,338,097) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Airports	3 (2007)	27 (2004 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 (2007)	total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 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: 41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Delaware	slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
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.	The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
Birth rate	30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.23 billion expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005)	revenues: $256.9 billion expenditures: $274.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	-	Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Climate	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters	temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	451 km
Constitution	-	adopted 1815; amended many times, last time 2002
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank	conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland
Death rate	3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	-
Dependent areas	-	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Boudewijn J. VAN EENENNAAM chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): Boston
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	none
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient	$1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	-
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.	The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-04, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	100.7 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	4.5 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	NA kWh	20.9 billion kWh (2002)
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	90.61 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m	lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m
Environment - current issues	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment	water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Ethnic groups	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%	Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
Exchange rates	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002)	euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gerrit ZALM (since 27 May 2003) and Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (since 31 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy
Exports	$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	1.418 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
Exports - partners	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)	Germany 25%, Belgium 12.4%, UK 10.1%, France 9.9%, Italy 6%, US 4.3% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	-	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 8% industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)	agriculture: 2.4% industry: 24.5% services: 73.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $29,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)	1.2% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	32 00 N, 35 15 E	52 30 N, 5 45 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.)	located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
Heliports	-	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 116,500 km paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)
Illicit drugs	-	major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	2.284 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, consumer goods, construction materials	machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)	Germany 17.9%, Belgium 9.9%, US 7.9%, China 7.4%, UK 6.4%, France 4.8% (2004)
Independence	-	23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; it was not until 1648 that Spain recognized their independence)
Industrial production growth rate	2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	0.8% (2004 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	agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing
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.)	total: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	1.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	-	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)	5,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)
Labor force	568,000 (2005)	7.53 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 16% industry: 29% services: 55% (2005)	agriculture 4%, industry 23%, services 73% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km	total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
Land use	arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)	arable land: 26.71% permanent crops: 0.97% other: 72.32% (2001)
Languages	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)	Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Legal system	-	civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	-	bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 January 2003 (next to be held May 2007) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%, Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%, D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.46 years male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)	total population: 78.81 years male: 76.25 years female: 81.51 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Middle East, west of Jordan	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Map references	Middle East	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 558 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,796,460 GRT/5,212,557 DWT by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 361, chemical tanker 32, container 48, liquefied gas 13, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 32, roll on/roll off 15, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 139 (Bahamas 5, Belgium 2, Canada 1, Denmark 4, Finland 7, Germany 62, Ireland 13, Norway 9, Sweden 19, United Kingdom 6, United States 11) registered in other countries: 223 (2005)
Military branches	-	Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Constabulary, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$9.408 billion (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	1.6% (2004)
National holiday	-	Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April
Nationality	noun: NA adjective: NA	noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch
Natural hazards	droughts	flooding
Natural resources	arable land	natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land
Net migration rate	2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Boris DITTRICH]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Gerard van AS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Jozias VAN AARTSEN]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Netherlands Trade Union Federation (FNV) (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV); Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel (MHP); Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises
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.)	16,407,491 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	45.7% (2005)	NA
Population growth rate	2.985% (2007 est.)	0.53% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Amsterdam, Groningen, Ijmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Zaanstad
Radio broadcast stations	AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)	AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004)
Railways	-	total: 2,808 km standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2004)
Religions	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%	Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)
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.)	at birth: 1.05 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 (2005 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)	general assessment: highly developed and well maintained domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with five major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use	349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	10.004 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	12.5 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	8 (2005)	21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east	mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
Total fertility rate	4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.66 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)	6% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	5,046 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2004)

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