Israel at 51
A Statistical Glimpse*

Bordered by Lebanon in the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan in the east, Egypt to the southwest and the Mediterranean Sea in the west, Israel is long and narrow, about 290 miles (470 km.) long and 85 miles (135 km.) at its widest point.

Geographical Regions

Arid Zones 45%
Plains and Valleys 25%
Mountains 16%
Rift Valley 9%
Coastal Strip 5%


People

1960s 1970s 1980s Today
Population 2,150,000 3,022,000 3,922,000 5,987,000
Jews in Israel, as a percentage of world Jewry 13 20 25 36
Life expectancy
Females
Males
-
-
73.2
69.1
76.0
72.6
79.9
76.3
Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) 31.3 22.7 15.6 6.3
School population 578,000 824,000 1,201,000 1,797,000
Percentage of the population with 13 years or more of formal schooling 9 11.4 18.7 34.8


Population by Religion

 

Jews 79.8%
Muslims 14.7%
Christians 2.1%
Druze 1.6%
Not classified by religion 1.8%
Population Distribution

 

Cities 90.8%
Villages and community settlements 4%.0
Moshavim 3.2%
Kibbutzim 2.0%


Immigrants by Continent
1948-1997

 

Europe 59.0%
Africa 17.6%
Asia 14.6%
America & Oceania 7.7%
Unknown 1.1%

 

Immigrants by Year of Immigration

 

1948-51 688,000
1952-59 272,000
1960-69 374,000
1970-79 346,000
1980-89 154,000
1990-97 823,000


Economy

1960s 1970s 1980s Today
Gross National Product* $2.5 billion $6.8 billion $19.1 billion $98.5 billion
Export of goods (in millions of dollars) 217 768 5,511 22,500
thereof:
Industrial products
Agricultural products
154
63
639
129
4,955
556
20,100
800
Tourists arriving 110,000 419,000 1,066,000 2,300,000
Air passengers (annual) 223,000 1,051,000 2,847,000 7,670,000
Freight shipped by air (annual in tons) 3,520 30,700 105,800 270,000
Production of electricity (in millions of kilwatt/hours) 1,869 5,700 11,070 35,000
Private cars 24,000 148,000 410,000 1,229,000
Telephone subscribers 68,000 369,000 860,000 2,656,000

($=$US)
* at 1995 prices


State Budget, 1999: $52.6 billion (February 1999 exchange rate)


Major Indicators by Economic Branch (percentage)

Branch GNP Labor Force Exports* Investment
Industry 17 21 60 38
Agriculture 2 3 2 2
Construction 7 11 - 32
Transportation & Communications 8 7 2 31
Commercial, Financial & Personal Services 32 31 36 14
Public Services 34 27 - 13

*includes goods and services
Source: Bank of Israel, Annual Report, 1997


Education and Culture

University Students by Field of Study
(Total 109,000 students in 7 universities)
Agriculture 1%
Biological Sciences 4%
Law 4%
Medicine and Related Fields 7%
Engineering and Architecture 12%
Physics, Math and Computers 10%
Humanities 29%
Social Sciences 33%


Percentage of Adults Attending Cultural Events*

Theater 10.5
Sports Competition 10.0
Entertainment Show 11.3
Museum 5.7
Concert 3.6
* at least once a month


* Figures based on the Statistical Abstract of Israel, No. 49, 1998

Source: Israeli Foreign Ministry