Israel today

Israel at 62: A statistical glimpse

7 Apr 2010

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 22,072 sq km, of which 21,643 sq km is land area (Sea of Galilee: 164 sq km; Dead Sea: 265 sq km). Israel's total land border measures 857 km, its Mediterranean coastline 194 km, and 12 km on the Red Sea.

The only river in Israel: The Jordan River, approximately 250 km.
Main streams: Alexander, Besor, Hadera, Yarqon, Sa'ar, Qishon, and Soreq.

Geographical Regions

Arid zones 45%
Plains and valleys 25%
Mountains 16%
Rift valley 9%
Coastal strip 5%

Selected elevations:

Mt. Hermon, Golan - highest point in Israel 7,300 ft. 2,224 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 - 1,368 ft. - 417 m.



Natural resources

Raw materials for construction of buildings and roads: gravel and stone, sand, kurkar, clay, limestone, gypsum, and tuff.
Raw materials for manufacturing: potash, bromine, magnesium, salt, phosphates, sand, clay, and limestone.
Energy sources: natural gas, oil shale.



Climate

Israel is on a "climatic crossroad", which is a transitional area between a temperate and arid climate. The southern and eastern areas of Israel are characterized by an arid climate, while the other areas are characterized by a Mediterranean climate. Due to this climatic formation, there is high variability in the amount of precipitation from year to year, and in the different areas of the country.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Israel was 54°C (Tirat Zvi on 21 June 1942)
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Israel was -13.7°C (Bet Netofa Valley on 7 February 1950)




People

1980 1990 2008
Population 3,921,700 4,821,700 7,374,000
Civilian labor force 1,318,100 1,649,900 2,893,800
Jews in Israel, as a percentage of world Jewry 25 30 42
Life expectancy
Females
Males
75.7
72.1
78.4
75.7
83.0
79.1
Infant mortality
(per 1000 live births) 15.6 9.9 3.9
Percentage of the population (15+) with 13 years or more of formal schooling 19.2 25.3 43.0





Population by Religion
Jews 75.5%
Muslims 16.8%
Christians 2.1%
Druze 1.7%
Not classified by religion 3.9%

Population Distribution
Urban localities 91.7%
Rural localities 8.3%
Of which:
Moshavim
Kibbutzim
3.5%
1.7%





Largest cities by population

Jerusalem 755,600
Tel Aviv-Yafo 391,300
Haifa 264,900
Rishon Lezion 225,200
Ashdod 208,100




Immigrants by Continent
1948-2008
Europe 1,827,359
Africa 503,126
Asia 432,076
America & Oceania 249,958
Unknown 31,590


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
1990-1999 956,400
2000-2008 253,800



Today, 70.7 percent of Israel's Jewish population were born in Israel.


Economy

1980 1990 2008
Gross Domestic Product (NIS million) 116 111,804 725,142
Net exports of goods (US$ billions) 5,291.9 11,603.1 51,320.7
thereof:
Industrial products (excl. diamonds)
Agricultural products
3,340.4
555.7
7,696.8
657.2
40,396.4
1,225.8
Net imports of goods (US$ billions) 7,845.7 15,107.1 64,531.4
Tourists arriving 1,065,800 1,131,700 2,572,300
Air passengers 2,847,000 3,720,000 11,134,000
Freight shipped by air (in tons) 105,800 194,160 320,900
Production of electricity (millions of kilwatt/hours) 12,400 20,900 54,504
Private cars 410,000 803,000 1,875,765



Education

University Students by Field of Study
(Total 120,800 students in 7 universities)

Humanities 22.0%
Social Sciences 23.7%
Science and mathematics 16.1%
Engineering 14.1%
Medicine 10.5%
Business & Administration 7.4%
Law 4.8%
Agriculture 1.3%



* Figures based on the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009


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