World Atlas: Israel

Information about Israel

Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Israel. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Israel. But let's start with the flag of Israel here:

Israel - Overview:

What you should know about Israel? Let's start with this: Following World War II, Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine, and the UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Nonetheless, an Israeli state was declared in 1948, and Israel subsequently defeated the Arab armies in a series of wars that did not end deep tensions between the two sides. (The territories Israel has occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted.) On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, Israel conducted bilateral negotiations with Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement with each. Israel and Palestinian officials on 13 September 1993 signed a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords"), enshrining the idea of a two-state solution to their conflict and guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. The parties achieved six additional significant interim agreements between 1994 and 1999 aimed at creating the conditions for a two-state solution, but most were never fully realized. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. Progress toward a final status agreement with the Palestinians was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between 2001 and February 2005. Israel in 2005 unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of Hamas to head the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 temporarily froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel engaged in a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon from July-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip from December 2008-January 2009. In November 2012, Israel engaged in a seven-day conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Direct talks with the Palestinians most recently launched in July 2013 but were suspended in April 2014. The talks represented the fourth concerted effort to resolve final status issues between the sides since they were first discussed at Camp David in 2000. Three months later Hamas and other militant groups launched rockets into Israel, which led to a 51-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza.

Geography of Israel

Where on the globe is Israel? The location of this country is Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon. Total area of Israel is 20,770 sq km, of which 20,330 sq km is land. So this is not a large country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley. The lowest point of Israel is Dead Sea -431 m, the highest point Har Meron 1,208 m. And the climate is temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas.

Inhabitants of Israel

Let's take a look how many people live in Israel. The number is: 8,299,706 (July 2017 est.) (includes populations of the Golan Heights of Golan Sub-District and also East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after 1967). So this is not very populous country. Who lives here? Jewish 74.7% (of which Israel-born 76.3%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 16.2%, Africa-born 4.8%, Asia-born 2.7%), non-Jewish 25.2% (mostly Arab) (2016 est.). What are the languages in Israel? Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language). And the religions: Jewish 74.7%, Muslim 17.7%, Christian 2%, Druze 1.6%, other 4% (2016 est.). How old are the people in average? 29.9 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 82.5 years. Where the people live in Israel? Here: population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. The major urban areas of Israel are: Tel Aviv-Yafo 3.608 million; Haifa 1.097 million; Jerusalem (proclaimed capital) 839,000 (2015).

Government and Economy of Israel

The capital of Israel is Jerusalem; note - the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty and the government type parliamentary democracy. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv. Regarding the economy of Israel, important industrial products are high-technology products (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, pharmaceuticals, construction, metal products, chemical products, plastics, cut diamonds, textiles, footwea. Important agricultural products are citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products. The most important export commodities are machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel and the most important export partners are US 29.3%, Hong Kong 7.4%, UK 6.5%, China 5.5%, Belgium 4.2% (2016). The most important import commodities are raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods and the most important import partners are US 12.2%, China 8.9%, Switzerland 6.4%, Germany 6.1%, Belgium 5.9%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 4.1%, Italy 4% (2016). How rich is Israel and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $36,200 (2017 est.). This means the living standards are good here. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: 22%.

Map of Israel