West Bank (2008) | West Bank (2001) | |
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:
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.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 3 (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 (2007) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (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:
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 |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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 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. |
Birth rate | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.149 billion
expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
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 | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) |
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. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 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 | 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 |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003) | 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) |
Exports | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | -7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 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.) | 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.) |
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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | NA% |
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 | 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 |
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.) |
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA sq km |
Labor force | 605,000 (2006) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 15% services: 67% (2006) |
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | - | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA% |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | droughts | droughts |
Natural resources | arable land | arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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.) |
2,090,713 (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.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.985% (2007 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008) | 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) |
Radios | - | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
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:
1.06 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.) |
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:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 30 (2008) | NA |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.6% (2006) | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) |
Waterways | - | none |