Israel at 65: A statistical glimpse

Israel at 65: A statistical glimpse

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    Long and narrow in shape, Israel is about 290 miles (470 km.) long and 85 miles (135 km.) across at its widest point.
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  • Geography

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    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.

    The only river in Israel: The Jordan River, approximately 250 km.
    Main streams: Alexander, Besor, Hadera, Yarqon, Sa'ar, Qishon, and Soreq.


    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.

     

    Climate

    Israel is on a "climatic crossroad", which is a transitional area between a temperate and arid climate. The southern and eastern areas of Israel are characterized by an arid climate, while the other areas are characterized by a Mediterranean climate. Due to this climatic formation, there is high variability in the amount of precipitation from year to year, and in the different areas of the country.
    The highest temperature ever recorded in Israel was 54°C (Tirat Zvi on 21 June 1942)
    The lowest temperature ever recorded in Israel was -13.7°C (Bet Netofa Valley on 7 February 1950)


  • People

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      1980 1990 2013

    Population 3,921,700 4,821,700 8,018,000
    Civilian labor force 1,318,100 1,649,900 3,204,200
    Jews in Israel,
    as a percentage of world Jewry

    25

    30

    43
    Life expectancy
       Females
       Males

    75.7
    72.1

    78.4
    75.7

    83.6
    80.0
    Infant mortality
    (per 1000 live births)
    15.6 9.9 3.7
    School population 1,200,700 1,451,300 1,564,700
    Percentage of the population (15+)
    with 13 years or more of formal schooling

    19.2

    25.3

    44.4


    Population by Religion

    Jews 75.4%
    Muslims 17.3%
    Christians 2.0%
    Druze 1.7%
    Not classified by religion 3.6%
      Population Distribution

    Urban localities 91.4%
    Rural localities 8.6%
      Of which:
       Moshavim
       Kibbutzim

    3.8%
    1.9%



    Largest cities by population
     

    Jerusalem 804,400
    Tel Aviv-Yafo 404,800
    Haifa 270,300
    Rishon Lezion 232,400
    Ashdod 212,300

     

    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 826,300
    2002-2011 215,200


    Today, 73 percent of Israel's Jewish population were born in Israel.


  • Economy

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      1980 1990 2011

    Gross Domestic Product
    (NIS million)
    116 111,804 871,800
    Net exports of goods (US$ billions) 5,291.9 11,603.1 67,802.2
    thereof:
      Industrial products
      (excl. diamonds)
      Agricultural products

    3,340.4
    555.7

    7,696.8
    657.2

    45,752.3
    1,380.6
    Net imports of goods (US$ billions) 7,845.7 15,107.1 73,536.2
    Tourists arriving 1,065,800 1,131,700 2,820,200
    Air passengers 2,847,000 3,720,000 12,343,000
    Freight shipped by air (in tons) 105,800 194,160 287,762
    Production of electricity
    (millions of kilwatt/hours)
    12,400 20,900 57,145
    Private cars 410,000 803,000 2,164,385

  • Education

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    Students in Universities, Academic Colleges and Colleges of Education

    1969/70 35,374
    1979/80 53,355
    1989/90 75,487
    1999/00 170,953
    2010/11 251,000


    University Students by Field of Study (2010/11)
    (Total 125,059 students in nine universities)

    Humanities 21.6%
    Social Sciences 24.0%
    Science and mathematics 15.4%
    Engineering 14.9%
    Medicine 10.8%
    Business & Administration 7.4%
    Law 4.6%
    Agriculture 1.3%



    * Figures based on the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012