West Bank (2008) | New Zealand (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 16 regions and 1 territory*; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands*, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast |
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: 21.4% (male 441,836/female 421,065)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,356,095/female 1,343,728) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 206,650/female 266,087) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, lamb and mutton, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 116 (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: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 70
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 39 (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: 268,680 sq km
land: 268,021 sq km water: NA note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | about the size of Colorado |
Background | The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. 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 was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had 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 unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small 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 refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008. | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. |
Birth rate | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.9 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.149 billion
expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006) |
revenues: $38.29 billion
expenditures: $36.12 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Wellington |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | temperate with sharp regional contrasts |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 15,134 km |
Constitution | - | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments, as well as The Constitution Act 1986, which is the principal formal charter; adopted 1 January 1987, effective 1 January 1987 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
Death rate | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $47.34 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, 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; 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 | asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) [see Antarctica] |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $99.7 million |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns 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 when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance. | Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita income has risen for six consecutive years and is now more than $23,000 in purchasing power parity terms. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth. Exports are equal to about 20% of GDP. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and the Labor Government promises that expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately to output. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 35.71 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 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 | 38.39 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | European 69.8%, Maori 7.9%, Asian 5.7%, Pacific islander 4.4%, other 0.5%, mixed 7.8%, unspecified 3.8% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 30,220 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Australia 21%, US 14.4%, Japan 11.3%, China 5.7%, UK 4.7% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | - | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 27.4% services: 68% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | 4.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 41 00 S, 174 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.) | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world |
Highways | - | total: 92,382 km
paved: 59,124 km (including at least 169 km of expressways) unpaved: 33,258 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1991 est.) |
Imports | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 119,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Australia 22.4%, US 11.3%, Japan 11.2%, China 9.7%, Germany 5.2% (2004) |
Independence | - | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 5.9% (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 | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining |
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: 5.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006) | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | 2,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note - Judges appointed by the Governor-General |
Labor force | 605,000 (2006) | 2.05 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 15% services: 67% (2006) |
agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 5.6%
permanent crops: 6.99% other: 87.41% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | English (official), Maori (official) |
Legal system | - | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 17 September 2005 (next to be held not later than 15 November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NZLP 41.1%, NP 39.1%, NZFP 5.72%, Green Party 5.3%, Maori 2.12%, UF 2.67%, ACT New Zealand 1.51%, Progressive 1.16%; seats by party - NZLP 50, NP 48, NZFP 7, Green Party 6, Maori 4, UF 3, ACT New Zealand 2, Progressive 1 note: results of 2005 election saw the total number of seats increase to 121 because the Maori Party won one more electorate seat than its entitlement under the party vote |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.66 years
male: 75.67 years female: 81.78 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% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 77,523 GRT/108,352 DWT
by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1, bulk carrier 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, Isle of Man 1) registered in other countries: 5 (2005) |
Military branches | - | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.147 billion (FY03/04) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1% (FY02) |
National holiday | - | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
Natural hazards | droughts | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | arable land | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone |
Net migration rate | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km; refined products 304 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | ACT New Zealand [Rodney HIDE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; Maori Party [Whatarangi WINIATA]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Party [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
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.) |
4,035,461 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% (2007 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.985% (2007 est.) | 1.02% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Auckland, Lyttelton, Tauranga, Wellington, Whangarei |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008) | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 3,898 km
narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist 2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other 3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 1.765 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 2.599 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 30 (2008) | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.6% (2006) | 4.2% (2004 est.) |