| Country (long form) |
State of Israel |
| Capital |
Jerusalem
note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
| Total Area |
8,019.34 sq mi
20,770.00 sq km
(slightly smaller than New Jersey) |
| Population |
5,938,093 (July 2001 est. )
note: includes about 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, about 6,900 in the Gaza Strip, and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 2000 est.) |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
8,516,835 |
| Languages |
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
| Literacy |
95.0% total, 97.0% male, 93% female (1992 est.) |
| Religions |
Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
| Life Expectancy |
76.69 male, 80.84 female (2001 est.) |
| Government Type |
parliamentary democracy |
| Currency |
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot |
| GDP (per capita) |
$18,900 (2000 est.) |
| Industry |
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 |
| Agriculture |
citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
| Arable Land |
17% |
| Natural Resources |
timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand, oil |
|
|
