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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
The Israel-PLO Declaration of
Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in
Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not
exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer
certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which
includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as
part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip
and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas
of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim
Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning
Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River
Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP
provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional
period for external security and for internal security and public order
of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be
determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999
after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's
military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are
undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. |
| Location: |
Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
31 25 N, 34 20 E |
| Map
references: |
Middle East |
| Area: |
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly more than twice the
size of Washington, DC |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
Israeli-occupied with current
status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation |
| Climate: |
temperate, mild winters, dry
and warm to hot summers |
| Terrain: |
flat to rolling, sand- and
dune-covered coastal plain |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m |
| Natural
resources: |
arable land, natural gas |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 39%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 11%
other: 26% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
120 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
droughts |
| Environment
- current issues: |
desertification; salination
of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation |
| Geography
- note: |
there are 25 Israeli
settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 2000
est.) |
| Population: |
1,178,119 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 6,900 Israeli settlers in
the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
49.89% (male 301,288; female 286,481)
15-64 years: 47.32% (male 283,274; female 274,189)
65 years and over: 2.79% (male 14,121; female 18,766) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
4.01% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
42.48 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
4.21 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
1.8 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
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: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
25.37 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
71.01 years
male: 69.76 years
female: 72.32 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.42 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Palestinian Arab and other
99.4%, Jewish 0.6% |
| Religions: |
Muslim (predominantly Sunni)
98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6% |
| Languages: |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by
Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| Literacy: |
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA% |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip
local long form: none
local short form: Qita Ghazzah |
| Economy
- overview: |
Economic output in the Gaza
Strip - which comes under the responsibility of the Palestinian
Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - declined perhaps
one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn was largely the result of
Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures
in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously
established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and
the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative social
effect of this downturn was the emergence of high unemployment;
unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by
1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive
closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to
reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the
movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost
three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real
GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last
quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which
triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a
severe disruption of trade and labor movements. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$1.11 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-7.5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$1,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63% (1999 est., includes West Bank) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3% (includes West Bank) (2000
est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 66%, industry 21%,
agriculture 13% (1996) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
40% (includes West Bank)
(yearend 2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $1.6
billion
expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA
note: includes West Bank (1999 est.) |
| Industries: |
generally small family
businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and
mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some
small-scale modern industries in an industrial center |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
NA kWh; note - electricity
supplied by Israel |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
NA kWh |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
NA kWh; note - electricity
supplied by Israel |
| Agriculture
- products: |
olives, citrus, vegetables;
beef, dairy products |
| Exports: |
$682 million (f.o.b., 1998
est.) (includes West Bank) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
citrus, flowers |
| Exports
- partners: |
Israel, Egypt, West Bank |
| Imports: |
$2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998
est.) (includes West Bank) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food, consumer goods,
construction materials |
| Imports
- partners: |
Israel, Egypt, West Bank |
| ......Debt
- external: |
$108 million (1997 est.)
(includes West Bank) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$121 million disbursed (2000)
(includes West Bank) |
| Currency: |
new Israeli shekel (ILS) |
| Exchange
rates: |
new Israeli shekels per US
dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001
(1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
95,729 (total for Gaza Strip
and West Bank) (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
NA
domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an
open wire system
international: NA |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0
(1998) |
| Radios: |
NA; note - most Palestinian
households have radios (1999) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
2 (operated by the
Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
NA; note - most Palestinian
households have televisions (1997) |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (1999) |
| Internet
users: |
23,520 (1999) (includes West
Bank) |
| Railways: |
total: NA km;
note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains |
| Highways: |
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
note: small, poorly developed road network |
| Airports: |
2
note: includes Gaza International Airport that opened on 24
November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995
Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| 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 |
......
|
