Israel 
Facts
Population: 6,426,679
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2007 est.).
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.1% (male 858,246/female 818,690)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 2,076,649/female 2,046,343)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 269,483/female 357,268) (2007 est.).
Population growth rate: 1.154% (2007 est.).
Birth rate: 17.71 births/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.015 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.754 male(s)/female
total population: 0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.).
Infant mortality rate: total: 6.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.59 years
male: 77.44 years
female: 81.85 years (2007 est.).
Total fertility rate: 2.38 children born/woman (2007 est.).
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.).
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,000 (1999 est.).
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 100 (2001 est.).
Nationality: noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli.
Ethnic groups: Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004).
Religions: Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004).
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9% (2004 est.).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $170.3 billion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $26,800 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 30.8%
services: 66.6% (2006 est.).
Labor force: 2.6 million (2006 est.).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture, forestry, and fishing 1.8%, manufacturing 15.7%, construction 5.3%, wholesale and retail trade 12.9%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, finance and business 16.9%, personal and other services 11.5%, public services 28.6% (1996).
Population below poverty line: 21.6% (2005).
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.31% (2005).
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.1% (2006).
Unemployment rate: 8.3% (30 September 2006).
Budget: revenues: $48.4 billion
expenditures: $49.57 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.).
Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products.
Industries: high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear.
Industrial production growth rate: 8.6% (2006 est.).
Electricity - production: 46.07 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 41.38 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 1.47 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004).
Exports: $42.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel.
Exports - partners: US 36.5%, Belgium 8.7%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2005).
Imports: $47.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Imports - commodities: raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods.
Imports - partners: US 13.4%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 6.4%, UK 5.7%, Switzerland 5.5%, China 4.2% (2005).
Debt - external: $81.98 billion (30 June 2006 est.).
Economic aid - recipient: $240 million from US (FY06).
Currency (code): new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS.
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002).
Fiscal year: calendar year.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
Press
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(Pro-Palestinian), Ramallah West Bank
http://www.al-ayyam.com/
(Palestinian), Jerusalem
http://www.alhayat-j.com/
Al-Ittihad
(Communist Party organ Arab-language), Haifa
Al-Nahar
(Palestinian), Jerusalem
(Pro-Palestinian Authority), Jerusalem
http://www.alquds.com
Al-Sennara
(Independent Arab-language weekly), Tel Aviv
Al-Talia
(Arab-oriented communist weekly), Jerusalem
Israel in the News
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Displaying 1 to 4 of 199 items.
For several years, it seemed as though cultural relations between Israel and Egypt were gradually being woven. But things have changed in the last few years, since the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out.
One day the world will wake up. The two-state solution or the wish of full Israeli control is not possible. It can be taken by force perhaps, but is not a viable long-term solution.
According to a report by Peace Now, the expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem has accelerated since the November 2007 "peace conference" between Olmert and Abbas.
Why should what worked in Northern Ireland—indeed, what was pressed on Britain by the United States—be unthinkable in the Middle East? Are we in the West guilty of double standards yet again?
Americas 
