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.
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.
People
| |
1980 |
1990 |
2005 |
| Population |
3,921,700 |
4,821,700 |
6,930,100 |
| Civilian
labor force |
1,318,100 |
1,649,900 |
2,740,100 |
| Jews
in Israel, as a percentage of world
Jewry |
25 |
30 |
41 |
Life
expectancy
Females
Males |
75.7
72.1 |
78.4
75.7 |
82.3
78.3 |
Infant
mortality
(per 1000 live births) |
15.6 |
9.9 |
4.9 |
| School
population |
1,200,700 |
1,451,300 |
2,109,500 |
| Percentage
of the population (15+) with 13 years
or more of formal schooling |
19.2 |
25.3 |
41.3 |
Population
by Religion
| Jews |
76.1% |
| Muslims |
16.2% |
| Christians |
2.1% |
| Druze |
1.6% |
| Not
classified by religion |
3.9% |
|
|
Population
Distribution
| Urban
localities |
91.8% |
| Rural
localities |
8.2% |
Of
which:
Moshavim
Kibbutzim |
3.3%
1.7% |
|
Largest cities by population
| Jerusalem |
719,900 |
| Tel Aviv-Yafo |
378,900 |
| Haifa |
267,000 |
| Rishon Lezion |
219,500 |
| Ashdod |
200,600 |
Immigrants
by Continent 1948-2004
| Europe |
1,801,530 |
| Africa |
493,638 |
| Asia |
427,383 |
| America & Oceania |
238,890 |
| Unknown |
31,656 |
|
|
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 |
| 1990-2001 |
1,060,091 |
| 2002-2004 |
98,913 |
|
Economy
Proposed State
Budget, 2005: NIS 284.2 billion
| |
1980 |
1990 |
2004 |
| Gross
Domestic Product (US$ billions) |
23.2 |
59.2 |
123.5 |
| Net
exports of goods (US$ billions) |
5,291.9 |
11,603.1 |
36,610.8 |
thereof:
Industrial products (excl.
diamonds)
Agricultural products |
3,340.4
555.7 |
7,696.8
657.2 |
25,566.1
1,027.1 |
| Net
imports of goods (US$ billions) |
7,845.7 |
15,107.1 |
44,456.7 |
| Tourists
arriving |
1,065,800 |
1,131,700 |
1,902,700 |
| Air
passengers |
2,847,000 |
3,720,000 |
8,586,000 |
| Freight
shipped by air (in tons) |
105,800 |
194,160 |
313,300 |
| Production
of electricity (millions of kilwatt/hours) |
12,400 |
20,900 |
48,379 |
| Private
cars |
410,000 |
803,000 |
1,626,300 |
Education
University
Students by Field of Study
(Total 124,416 students in 7 universities) |
| Humanities |
25.1% |
| Social Sciences |
26.4% |
| Science and
mathematics |
16.4% |
| Engineering |
13.9% |
| Medicine |
9.3% |
| Law |
3.2% |
| Business & Administration |
4.3% |
| Agriculture |
1.4% |
* Figures based on the Statistical
Abstract of Israel, No. 57, 2006
|
