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ISRAEL
Map of ISRAEL
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Location:
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Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
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Geographic coordinates:
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31 30 N, 34 45 E |
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Area:
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total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km
water: 440 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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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 |
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Coastline:
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273 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
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Climate:
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temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
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Terrain:
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Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
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Natural resources:
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timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
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Land use:
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arable land: 15.45%
permanent crops: 3.88%
other: 80.67% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,940 sq km (2003) |
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Total renewable water resources:
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1.7 cu km (2001) |
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)
per capita: 305 cu m/yr (2000) |
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Natural hazards:
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sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
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Environment - current issues:
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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:
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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 |
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Population:
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7,112,359
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 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 28% (male 1,018,229/female 971,083)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,242,928/female 2,183,688)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 303,289/female 393,142) (2008 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
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Ethnic groups:
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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) |
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Religions:
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Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004) |
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Languages:
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Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9% (2004 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form: Yisra'el |
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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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 |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
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Independence:
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14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May
Source: http://cia.gov
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