Gaza Strip

Internet country code

.ps

Internet users

60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Telephone system

general assessment: NA domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an open-wire system international: NA

Telephones - main lines in use

95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular

320,000 (cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2002)

Television broadcast stations

2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)

Agriculture - products

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Budget

revenues: $676.6 million expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (includes West Bank) (2003)

Currency

new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code

ILS

Debt - external

$108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$800 million (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

Economy - overview

Economic output in the Gaza Strip - under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures decreased during the next few years 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 violence, triggering tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including West Bank, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed Finance Minister Salam FAYYAD to implement several financial and economic reforms. Budgetary support, however, was not as forthcoming in 2003.

Electricity - consumption

NA kWh

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel (2001)

Electricity - production

NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.55 (2003), 4.74 (2002), 4.21 (2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999)

Exports

$603 million f.o.b., includes West Bank

Exports - commodities

citrus, flowers

Exports - partners

Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $768 million (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.5% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA

Imports

$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes West Bank

Imports - commodities

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners

Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Industrial production growth rate

NA

Industries

generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.2% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

Labor force

NA (1997)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996)

Population below poverty line

60% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate

50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.)

Area

total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Climate

temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Coastline

40 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Environment - current issues

desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources

Geographic coordinates

31 25 N, 34 20 E

Geography - note

there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (February 2002 est.)

Irrigated land

120 sq km (1998 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Land use

arable land: 28.95% permanent crops: 21.05% other: 50% (2001)

Location

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation

Natural hazards

droughts

Natural resources

arable land, natural gas

Terrain

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Country name

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Background

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 the 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 and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.

Military branches

in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, a Public Security Force and a civil Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure

NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA

Age structure

0-14 years: 49% (male 332,582; female 316,606) 15-64 years: 48.3% (male 326,450; female 314,098) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 14,847; female 20,408) (2004 est.)

Birth rate

40.62 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate

3.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Infant mortality rate

total: 23.54 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.59 years male: 70.31 years female: 72.94 years (2004 est.)

Literacy

definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

Median age

total: 15.5 years male: 15.3 years female: 15.6 years (2004 est.)

Nationality

noun: NA adjective: NA

Net migration rate

1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population

1,324,991 note: in addition, there are more than 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2004 est.)

Population growth rate

3.83% (2004 est.)

Religions

Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.04 children born/woman (2004 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 922,674 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2004)

Airports

2 (2001) note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA), inaugurated on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum; GIA has been largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Heliports

1 (2003 est.)

Highways

total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network

Ports and harbors

Gaza