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Israel at 57 - A Statistical Glance

Geography

Israel stands at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. Geographically, it belongs to the Asian continent. Its western border is the Mediterranean Sea. To the north it is bound by Lebanon and Syria, to the east by Jordan and to the south by the Red Sea and Egypt. Long and narrow in shape, Israel is about 290 miles (470 km.) long and 85 miles (135 km.) across at its widest point. Its total area is 22,145 sq km, of which 21,671 sq km is land area.

Geographical Regions

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

Selected elevations:

Mt. Hermon, Golan 9,220 ft. 2,810 m.
Mt. Meron, Upper Galilee 3,964 ft. 1,208 m.
Mt. Ramon, Negev 3,396 ft. 1,035 m.
Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem 2,739 ft. 835 m.
Mt. Tabor, Lower Galilee 1,930 ft. 588 m.
Mt. Carmel, Haifa 1,792 ft. 546 m.
Dead Sea - lowest point on earth - 1,300 ft. - 400 m.

People

  1980 1990 2004
Population
3,921,700
4,821,700
6,864,000
Civilian labor force
1,318,100
1,649,900
2,610,000
Jews in Israel, as a percentage of world Jewry
25
30
40
Life expectancy
   Females
   Males

75.7
72.1

78.4
75.7

81.5
77.5
Infant mortality
(per 1000 live births)
15.6
9.9
5.1
School population
1,200,700
1,451,300
1,932,000
Percentage of the population (15+) with 13 years or more of formal schooling
19.2
25.3
39.2

Population by Religion

Jews 76.5%
Muslims 15.9%
Christians 2.1%
Druze 1.6%
Not classified by religion 3.8%

Population Distribution

Urban localities 91.7%
Rural localities 8.3%
  Of which:
   Moshavim
   Kibbutzim

3.3%
1.7%


Immigrants by Continent
1948-2003

Europe 1,779,100
Africa 485,990
Asia 422,870
America & Oceania 231,400
Unknown 31,560

Immigrants by Year of Immigration

1948-1951 688,000
1952-1959 272,000
1960-1969 374,000
1970-1979 346,000
1980-1989 154,000
1990-2001 1,060,091
2002-2003 56,835

Economy

State Budget, 2005: NIS 264.5 billion

  1980 1990 2003
Gross Domestic Product (US$ billions) 23.2 59.2 107.8
Net exports of goods (US$ billions) 5,291.9 11,603.1 29,375.3
thereof:
  Industrial products (excl. diamonds)
  Agricultural products

3,340.4
555.7

7,696.8
657.2

19,449.7
714.7
Net imports of goods (US$ billions) 7,845.7 15,107.1 34,026.5
Tourists arriving 1,065,800 1,131,700 1,063,400
Air passengers 2,847,000 3,720,000 6,842,000
Freight shipped by air (in tons) 105,800 194,160 307,351
Production of electricity (millions of kilwatt/hours) 12,400 20,900 45,608
Private cars 410,000 803,000 1,520,571

Education

University Students by Field of Study
(Total 120,552 students in 7 universities)

Humanities 25.9%
Social Sciences 29.2%
Science and mathematics 17.1%
Engineering 14.2%
Medicine 8.4%
Law 4.0%
Business & Administration 6.9%
Agriculture 1.2%


* Figures based on the Statistical Abstract of Israel, No. 55, 2004


Source: Israeli Foreign Ministry