In the late 1980s, Israel's financial system consisted of
various financial intermediaries providing a range of services from
short-term overdraft privileges to the financing of long-term
investments in construction, industry, agriculture, and research
and development. This financial system was concentrated among a
limited number of large banking groups under the supervision and
control of the Bank of Israel.
The government-owned Bank of Israel is Israel's central bank.
Its legal powers and functions allow it to determine policies and
regulate activities in all fiscal areas, including interest rates,
money supply, foreign currency, and export financing and control.
As part of its duties, the Bank of Israel seeks to create
institutions specializing in defined sectors of business or
customers. Consequently, banking corporations have been divided
into two main groups: ordinary banking institutions, such as banks,
foreign banks, and merchant banks--all of which are subject to
liquidity regulations on both assets and liabilities--and
specialized banking institutions, such as mortgage banks,
investment finance banks, financial institutions, and joint
services companies.
The financial system in 1988 consisted of five major bank
groups: Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi Le Israel, Israel Discount Bank,
United Mizrahi Bank, and the First International Bank of Israel.
Given the high degree of concentration (the three largest bank
groups accounted for more than 80 percent of total bank assets),
banks operated in an oligopolistic environment, with little
competition in determining lending and borrowing rates.
The financial system provided three types of credit
instruments: short-term, nondirected credit financing; short-term,
directed credit financing, and long-term and medium-term credit
financing. The granting of directed credit was the responsibility
of the Bank of Israel. This credit, however, actually was provided
by joint funds of the Bank of Israel and the commercial banks, and
it was primarily intended to meet the working capital requirements
of export enterprises. Seventy-five percent of these funds were in
foreign currency, with interest charges calculated on the basis of
United States dollar credits.
Apart from directed credit, the other major form of short-term
capital was nondirected credit, which was composed of overdraft
facilities. This credit facility provided the customer with great
flexibility at a nonindexed fee, which adjusted with inflation on
a periodic basis. The other loans that were denominated in new
Israeli shekels
(NIS--see Glossary) were
either indexed to the
consumer price index or, if nonindexed, were fixed-term credits.
Medium-term and long-term loans (exceeding eighteen months)
were primarily directed government loans. These credit flows were
supervised by investment finance banks such as the Industrial
Development Bank of Israel. The government generally determined how
medium-term and long-term investment was encouraged and how it was
financed. In an economy with a need for short-term capital, longterm financing was also used for financial activities other than
investment.
Government intervention in investment financing has taken forms
such as direct budget credits, development loans, and investment
grants (under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment).
Since 1974 development loans--whose interest rates were not
adjusted for changes in the rate of inflation--have contained a
subsidy element that arises from the differential between the low
interest rate paid by the borrower on the one hand and a reasonable
market rate of interest plus the expected rate of inflation on the
other. Beginning in 1979, the government linked development loans,
thus reducing this subsidization. Despite this linkage, the
persistent high rate of inflation had kept the effective real
interest on these linked loans negative.
Although Israel had a well-developed banking system, it did not
have a well-developed stock market in 1988. The Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange (TASE), founded in 1953, had never developed properly
because of the government's domination of activities relating to
the raising and allocation of capital. TASE thus remained a shallow
market, poorly regulated and dominated by the major banks, who
assumed all stock market roles--brokers, underwriters, issuers,
fund managers, counselors, and investors.
Between 1975 and 1983, private corporations increasingly raised
more of their capital on the stock exchange. Most of the shares
sold were highly overvalued and carried little or no voting rights.
By the end of 1982, the total value of the shares registered on the
TASE reached more than US$17 billion; in real terms, the value had
more than doubled in a year and had multiplied five-fold since
1979. This development stood in sharp contrast to Israel's stagnant
GNP growth and the worsening trade and debt position of the
economy. In January 1983, however, the market sharply declined. In
a matter of days, most speculators lost 50 to 70 percent of the
value of their stocks. Mutual funds, which had been responsible for
much of the market manipulation, became nearly valueless.
In October 1983, the shares of the banks (which up to that
point had been unaffected by the market malaise) finally collapsed.
Their crash precipitated a dramatic change in the development of
Israel's banking system.
The banking industry had expanded spectacularly in the 1970s,
both at home and abroad. This process had forced the banks to
increase their capital base rapidly. The gradual advance of
inflation in the economy, and its distorting effect on financial
statements drawn up under historic accounting rules, only added to
this thirst for capital. But in a capital market dominated by the
government, which was able and willing to issue endless quantities
of index-linked bonds, the banks found this capital difficult to
raise.
The banks' solution was to transform their shares into indexlinked paper by creating a system that ensured that the price of
their shares would keep pushing upward, irrespective of the
underlying market forces. Over the years, bank shares were
perceived as a riskless investment. By 1983 the price of bank
shares was steadily becoming more detached from their true value.
When it became obvious in 1983 that the government would have to
devalue its currency, many people began to liquidate their holdings
of shekel-denominated assets in favor of foreign currency. The
assets most widely held and most easily liquidated were bank
shares. The selling wave began in the summer of 1983 and peaked in
October, forcing the government to intervene. In 1988 the
government undertook to secure the US$7 billion obligation (equal
to the public's holding of bank shares) at the United States dollar
value before the crash. The closing of the TASE, on October 6,
1983, became known as the "economic day of atonement" and
represented the end of the speculators' paradise created and
supported by leading Israeli banks.
|
Background | | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel 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 pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. In the summer of 2005, Israel 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 froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006 and presided over a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. OLMERT, who in June 2007 resumed talks with PA President Mahmoud ABBAS, resigned in September 2008. Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU formed a coalition in March 2009 following a February 2009 general election. Peace talks are currently stalled.
|
|
Location | | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
|
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 22,072 sq km
land: 21,642 sq km
water: 430 sq km
|
|
Geographic coordinates | | 31 30 N, 34 45 E
|
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
|
|
Coastline(km) | | 273 km
|
|
Climate | | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
|
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
|
|
Natural resources | | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
|
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 15.45%
permanent crops: 3.88%
other: 80.67% (2005)
|
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,940 sq km (2003)
|
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 1.7 cu km (2001)
|
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)
per capita: 305 cu m/yr (2000)
|
|
Natural hazards | | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
|
|
Environment - current issues | | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
|
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
|
|
Geography - note | | there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source
|
|
Population | | 7,233,701
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 2009 est.)
|
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 1,031,629/female 984,230)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 2,283,034/female 2,221,301)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 311,218/female 402,289) (2009 est.)
|
|
Median age(years) | | total: 29.1 years
male: 28.4 years
female: 29.8 years (2009 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 1.671% (2009 est.)
|
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 19.77 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 5.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 2.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 92% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 80.73 years
male: 78.62 years
female: 82.95 years (2009 est.)
|
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.75 children born/woman (2009 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
|
|
Country name | | conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form: Yisra'el
|
|
Government type | | parliamentary democracy
|
|
Capital | | name: Jerusalem
geographic coordinates: 31 46 N, 35 14 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
|
|
Administrative divisions | | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
|
|
Constitution | | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law; note - since May 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution
|
|
Legal system | | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
|
|
Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch | | chief of state: President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 31 March 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term (one-term limit); election last held 13 June 2007 (next to be held in 2014 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition
election results: Shimon PERES elected president; number of votes in first round - Shimon PERES 58, Reuven RIVLIN 37, Colette AVITAL 21; PERES elected president in second round with 86 votes (unopposed)
|
|
Legislative branch | | unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kadima 23.2%, Likud-Ahi 22.3%, YB 12.1%, Labor 10.2%, SHAS 8.8%, United Torah Judaism 4.5%, United Arab List 3.5%, NU 3.4%, Hadash 3.4%, The Jewish Home 3%, The New Movement-Meretz 3%, Balad 2.6%; seats by party - Kadima 28, Likud-Ahi 27, YB 15, Labor 13, SHAS 11, United Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 4, NU 4, HADASH 4, The Jewish Home 3, The New Movement-Meretz 3, Balad 3
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
|
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; YESHA Council of Settlements [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise
|
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International organization participation | | BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD (accession state), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
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Flag description | | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag
|
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Economy - overview | | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, has grown by about 5% per year since 2003. The economy grew an estimated 3.9% in 2008, slowed by the global financial crisis. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment, tax revenues, and private consumption, setting the economy on a solid growth path.
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $203.4 billion (2008 est.)
$195.2 billion (2007 est.)
$185.6 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $202.1 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 4.2% (2008 est.)
5.2% (2007 est.)
5.3% (2006 est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $28,600 (2008 est.)
$27,900 (2007 est.)
$27,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 32.4%
services: 65% (2008 est.)
|
|
Labor force | | 2.957 million (2008 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 2%
industry: 16%
services: 82% (30 September 2008)
|
|
Unemployment rate(%) | | 6.1% (2008 est.)
7.3% (2007 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 21.60%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2005)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 24.2% (2007)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 38.6 (2005)
35.5 (2001)
|
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 18.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
|
Budget | | revenues: $59.98 billion
expenditures: $64.21 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.6% (2008 est.)
0.5% (2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of money | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$15.36 billion (31 December 2006)
|
|
Stock of quasi money | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$154.3 billion (31 December 2007)
|
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$113.4 billion (31 December 2006)
|
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $134.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$236.4 billion (31 December 2007)
$173.3 billion (31 December 2006)
|
|
Economic aid - recipient | | $240 million from US (FY06)
|
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 76.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
104.5% of GDP (2004 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(%) | | 3.5% (2008 est.)
|
|
Current account balance | | $2.213 billion (2008 est.)
$4.185 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports | | $57.16 billion (2008 est.)
$50.07 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
|
|
Exports - partners(%) | | US 32.5%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 6.7% (2008)
|
|
Imports | | $64.4 billion (2008 est.)
$55.93 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
|
|
Imports - partners(%) | | US 12.3%, Belgium 6.5%, China 6.5%, Switzerland 6.1%, Germany 6% (2008)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $42.51 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$28.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Debt - external | | $86.08 billion (31 December 2008)
$89.58 billion (31 December 2007)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $56.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$55.7 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $54.55 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$48.47 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Exchange rates | | new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004)
|
|
Currency (code) | | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 2.9 million (2008)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 8.902 million (2008)
|
|
Telephone system | | general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital; four privately-owned mobile-cellular service providers with countrywide coverage
international: country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2008)
|
|
Internet country code | | .il
|
|
Internet users | | 2.106 million (2008)
|
|
Airports | | 47 (2009)
|
|
Pipelines(km) | | gas 176 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2008)
|
|
Roadways(km) | | total: 17,870 km
paved: 17,870 km (includes 146 km of expressways) (2007)
|
|
Ports and terminals | | Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa
|
|
Military branches | | Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (INF), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2009)
|
|
Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2008)
|
|
Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,717,362
females age 16-49: 1,636,574 (2008 est.)
|
|
Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,474,966
females age 16-49: 1,404,712 (2009 est.)
|
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 61,223
female: 58,219 (2009 est.)
|
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 7.3% of GDP (2006)
|
|
Disputes - international | | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
|
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons | | IDPs: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2007)
|
|
Electricity - production(kWh) | | 50.41 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 46.15 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 2.081 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 5,246 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 235,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 69,580 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 318,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 1.94 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.1% (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 5,100 (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 200 (2007 est.)
|
|
Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9% (2004 est.)
|
|
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
|
|
Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.9% of GDP (2004)
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![[JPEG]](/images/frd/cs/israel/il03_04c.jpg)
