Nationality
noun: Israeli(s)
Area total: 20,770 sq km water: 440 sq km land: 20,330 sq km
Population: 6,276,883
Note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2005 est.)
Ethnic groups
Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%) non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.)
Capital: Jerusalem
Note – Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv (630 000)
Largest Cities
Tel Aviv (350 000)
Haifa (265 000) Holon (165 000)
Official Languages
Hebrew (official)
Arabic used officially for Arab minority English most commonly used foreign language
Religion
Jewish 80.1%
Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim) Christian 2.1% other 3.2% (1996 est.)
Political system: parliamentary democracy
GDP: purchasing power parity – $129 billion (2004 est.)
GDP per head: purchasing power parity – $20,800 (2004 est.)
GDP – composition by sector
agriculture: 2.8% industry: 37.7% services: 59.5% (2003 est.)
Annual growth: 3.9% (2004 est.)
Inflation: 0% (2004 est.)