| West Bank |  |

Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

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This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006

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| Introduction | West Bank | Top of Page

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 (PA) 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 provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented 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. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides.

| Geography | West Bank | Top of Page

Location: | Middle East, west of Jordan
Geographic coordinates: | 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Map references: | Middle East
Area: | total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries: | total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked)
Climate: | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Terrain: | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Natural resources: | arable land
Land use: | arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
Irrigated land: | NA sq km
Natural hazards: | droughts
Environment - current issues: | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Geography - note: | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)

| People | West Bank | Top of Page

Population: | 2,460,492 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202) 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 18.3 years male: 18.2 years female: 18.5 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.06% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 73.27 years male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic groups: | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Religions: | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Languages: | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

| Government | West Bank | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank

| Economy | West Bank | Top of Page

Economy - overview:

The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $1.8 billion (2003 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | NA
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.2% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $1,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 614,000 (April-June 2005)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 18.4%, industry 24%, services 57.6% (April-June 2005)
Unemployment rate: | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005)
Population below poverty line: | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $964 million expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004)
Agriculture - products: | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Industries: | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%

Electricity - production:

NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - consumption: | NA kWh
Electricity - imports: | NA kWh
Exports: | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Exports - commodities: | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners: | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
Imports: | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Imports - commodities: | food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners: | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
Debt - external: | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: | $2 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.)
Currency (code): | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Exchange rates: | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

| Communications | West Bank | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 357,300 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 974,300 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2004)
Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005)
Television broadcast stations: | 8 (2005)
Internet country code: | .ps
Internet users: | 160,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004)

| Transportation | West Bank | Top of Page

Airports: | 3 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2005)
Roadways: | total: 4,158 km paved: 4,158 km note: includes Gaza Strip (2003)

| Military | West Bank | Top of Page

Military expenditures - dollar figure: | NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA

| Transnational Issues | West Bank | Top of Page

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 from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; 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: | refugees (country of origin): 690,988 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2005)

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006