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Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Israel (2002)
Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Israel (2002)
| Western Sahara (2008) | Israel (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491; female 798,695)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,677; female 1,889,525) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
| Airports | 9 (2007) | 54 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
| Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. |
| Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
| Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
| Coastline | 1,110 km | 273 km |
| Constitution | - | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
| Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
| Death rate | NA | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453 FAX: [972] (3) 517-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-3607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria | 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; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | NA |
| Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99 coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 6.4% in 2000. But the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, increasingly the declines in the high-technology and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity measures in the face of growing inflation have led to declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. |
| Electricity - consumption | 79.05 million kWh (2005) | 34.897 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.27 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 12 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 85 million kWh (2005) | 38.876 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
| Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
| Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997) |
| Executive branch | none | chief of state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $28 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
| Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | US 42.8%, Benelux 7.4%, Hong Kong 6.8%, Germany 4.8%, UK 4.8%, Japan 3.2% (2001) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | - | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $122 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -1.1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
| Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
| Heliports | - | 3 (2002) |
| Highways | - | total: 15,965 km
paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 28% (1992) (1997) |
| Illicit drugs | - | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan |
| Imports | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | $30.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | US 23.5%, Benelux 10.2%, Germany 7.9%, uk 6.7%, Switzerland 6.0%, Italy 5.2% (2001) |
| Independence | - | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -1.5% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 5.7% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | NA | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
| Labor force | 12,000 | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
public services 31%, manufacturing 20%, finance and business 13%, commerce 13%, construction 8%, personal and other services 6%, transport, storage, and communications 6%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3% (1996) (1996) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
| Legal system | - | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | - | unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 78.86 years
male: 76.82 years female: 81.01 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93% (1992 est.) |
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
| Map references | Africa | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 595,319 GRT/704,544 DWT
ships by type: container 15, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | - | Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.97 billion (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 8.75% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,542,835
females age 15-49: 1,499,830 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,262,973
females age 15-49: 1,223,939 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 51,666
females: 49,207 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | - | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
| Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
| Net migration rate | - | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Herut [michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR]; Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON] (includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses |
| Population | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
6,029,529 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | NA | 1.48% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total: 647 km
standard gauge: 647 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
| Religions | Muslim | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
| Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 2.8 million (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 2.5 million (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
| Total fertility rate | NA | 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.4% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | - | none |
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