West Bank

Airports

2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Highways

small indigenous road network, Israelis developing east-west axial highways

Telecommunications

open-wire telephone system currently being upgraded; stations--no AM, no FM, no TV

Branches

NA

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

NA

Agriculture

olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products

Aid

none

Budget

revenues $47.4 million; expenditures $45.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY86)

Currency

new Israeli shekel (plural--shekels) and Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot and 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Electricity

power supplied by Israel

Exchange rates

new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1--1.9450 (January 1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5992 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6557 (January 1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3715 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)

Exports

$150 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--NA; partners--Jordan, Israel

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GNP

$1.0 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate - 15% (1988 est.)

Imports

$410 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--NA; partners--Jordan, Israel

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Overview

Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by Israeli military occupation and the effects of the Palestinian uprising. Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable financial resources have been discouraged by a lack of financial resources and Israeli policy. Capital investment has largely gone into residential housing, not into productive assets that could compete with Israeli industry. A major share of GNP is derived from remittances of workers employed in Israel and neighboring Gulf states. Israeli reprisals against Palestinian unrest in the West Bank since 1987 have pushed unemployment up and lowered living standards.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Coastline

none--landlocked

Comparative area

slightly larger than Delaware

Disputes

Israeli occupied with status to be determined

Environment

highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers

Land boundaries

404 km total; Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km;

Land use

27% arable land, 0% permanent crops, 32% meadows and pastures, 1% forest and woodland, 40% other

Maritime claims

none--landlocked

Natural resources

negligible

Note

landlocked; there are 173 Jewish settlements in the West Bank and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem

Terrain

mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

Total area

5,860 km2; land area: 5,640 km2; includes West Bank, East Jerusalem, Latrun Salient, Jerusalem No Man's Land, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus

Long-form name

none

Note

The West Bank is currently governed by Israeli military authorities and Israeli civil administration. It is US policy that the final status of the West Bank will be determined by negotiations among the concerned parties. These negotiations will determine how the area is to be governed.

Birth rate

37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

88% Palestinian Arab and other, 12% Jewish

Infant mortality rate

48 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

NA; excluding Israeli Jewish settlers--29.8% small industry, commerce, and business, 24.2% construction, 22.4% agriculture, 23.6% service and other (1984)

Language

Arabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely understood

Life expectancy at birth

65 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Literacy

NA%

Nationality

NA

Net migration rate

- 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

NA

Population

1,058,122 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990); in addition, there are 70,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and 110,000 in East Jerusalem (1989 est.)

Religion

80% Muslim (predominantly Sunni), 12% Jewish, 8% Christian and other

Total fertility rate

5.0 children born/woman (1990)