Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Israel has become a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its prosperous high-tech sector, large defense industry, and concerns about Iran to foster partnerships around the world. The State of Israel was established in 1948. The UN General Assembly proposed in 1947 partitioning the British Mandate for Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state. The Jews accepted the proposal, but the local Arabs and the Arab states rejected the UN plan and launched a war. The Arabs were subsequently defeated in the 1947-1949 war that followed the UN proposal and the British withdrawal.
- Capital
- Jerusalem
- Government
- parliamentary democracy
- Population
- 9,402,617
- Area
- 21,937 sq km
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
- Climate
- temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
- Natural resources
- timber; potash; copper ore; natural gas; phosphate rock; magnesium bromide…
- Languages
- Hebrew (official); Arabic (special status under Israeli law); English (most commonly used foreign language)
- Religions
- Jewish 73.5%; Muslim 18.1%; Christian 1.9%; Druze 1.6%…
- Independence
- 14 May 1948 (following League of Nations mandate under British administration)
- Administrative divisions
- 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
- Currency
- new Israeli shekels (ILS)
- Export partners
- USA 29%; China 10%; Ireland 6%; Germany 4%…
- Import partners
- China 17%; USA 12%; Germany 7%; Turkey 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain