total: 1,006 km
border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km,
Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
Coastline: 273 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central
mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand,
sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 6%
other: 66% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer
Environment-current issues: limited arable land and natural fresh
water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air
pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution
from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and
pesticides
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography-note: there are 207 Israeli settlements and civilian land
use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,
24 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1997 est.)
@Israel:People
Population: 5,643,966 (July 1998 est.)
note: includes 155,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, 17,000 in
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 6,000 in the Gaza Strip, and
164,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 814,558; female 776,630)
15-64 years: 62% (male 1,751,111; female 1,745,499)
65 years and over: 10% (male 239,658; female 316,510) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.91% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 19.99 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.02 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.41 years
male: 76.52 years
female: 80.39 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.71 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
Ethnic groups: Jewish 82% (Israel-born 50%,
Europe/Americas/Oceania-born 20%, Africa-born 7%, Asia-born 5%),
non-Jewish 18% (mostly Arab) (1993 est.)
Religions: Judaism 82%, Islam 14% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2%,
Druze and other 2%
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab
minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95%
male: 97%
female: 93% (1992 est.)
@Israel:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form: Yisra'el
Data code: IS
Government type: republic
National 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
Administrative divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular-mehoz);
Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under
British administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared
independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the
holiday may occur in April or May)
Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the functions of a
constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948),
the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli
citizenship law
Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate
regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat
that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 18 June
1996)
cabinet: Cabinet selected from and approved by the Knesset
elections: president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term;
election last held 4 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime
minister elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last
held 29 May 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); note-in March 1992, the
Knesset approved legislation, effective in 1996, which allowed for the
direct election of the prime minister; under the new law, each voter
casts two ballots-one for the direct election of the prime minister
and one for the party in the Knesset; the candidate that receives the
largest percentage of the popular vote then works to form a coalition
with other parties to achieve a parliamentary majority of 61 seats;
finally, the candidate must submit his or her cabinet to the Knesset
for approval and this must be done within 45 days of the election; in
contrast to the old system, under the new law, the prime minister's
party need not be the single-largest party in the Knesset
election results: Ezer WEIZMAN elected president by the Knesset with a
total of 63 votes, other candidate, Shaul AMOR, received 49 votes
(there were seven abstentions and one absence); Binyamin NETANYAHU
elected prime minister; percent of vote - Binyamin NETANYAHU 50.4%,
Shimon PERES 49.5%
Legislative branch: unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 May 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-Labor
Party 34, Likud Party 32, SHAS 10, MERETZ 9, National Religious Party
9, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 7, Hadash-Balad 5, Third Way 4, United Arab List
4, United Jewish Torah 4, Moledet 2; note-Likud, Tzomet, and Gesher
candidates ran on a joint list
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, appointed for life by the president
Political parties and leaders:
government coalition: Likud Party, Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU;
Tzomet, Rafael EITAN; SHAS, Arieh DERI; National Religious Party,
Yitzhak LEVI; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya, Natan SHARANSKY; United Jewish Torah,
Meir PORUSH; Third Way, Avigdor KAHALANI
opposition: Labor Party, Ehud BARAK; MERETZ, Yossi SARID; United Arab
List, Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH; Hadash-Balad, Hashim MAHAMID
other: Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Gesher, David LEVI
Political pressure groups and leaders: Gush Emunim, Israeli
nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza
Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and
is critical of government's Lebanon policy
International organization participation: AG (observer), BSEC
(observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE
(partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Zalman SHOVAL
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Edward WALKER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address: PSC 98, Box 100, APO AE 09830
telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575
FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227
consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note-an independent US mission,
established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign
government
Flag description: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star)
known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal
horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag
@Israel:Economy
Economy-overview: Israel has a technologically advanced market economy
with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of
crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite
limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its
agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years.
Manufacturing and construction employ about 28% of Israeli workers;
agriculture, forestry, and fishing only 2.6%; and services the rest.
Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for
grains. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products
(fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts
sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer
payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the
government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major
source of economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange,
Israel has been targeting high-technology niches in international
markets, such as medical scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish
immigrants from the former USSR topped 750,000 during the period
1989-97, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet
Union to one million, or one-sixth of the total population. Initially
this great influx increased unemployment, intensified housing
problems, and strained the government budget. At the same time, the
immigrants bring to the economy scientific and professional expertise
of substantial value for the future.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$96.7 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 1.9% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$17,500 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 17%
services: 81% (1997 est.)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 9% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 2.3 million (1997)
by occupation: public services 31.3%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and
business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other
services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%,
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 7.7% (1997)
Budget:
revenues: $55 billion
expenditures: $58 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998
est.)
Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles
and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport
equipment, electrical equipment, potash mining, high-technology
electronics, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 5.4% (1996)
Electricity-capacity: 7.736 million kW (1996)
Electricity-production: 32.5 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 5,387 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton;
beef, poultry, dairy products
Exports:
total value: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals,
textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals
partners: EU 32%, US 31%, Japan 7% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $28.6 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds,
oil, consumer goods
partners: EU 52%, US 20%, Japan (1996)
Debt-external: $18.7 billion (1997)
Economic aid:
recipient: $1.2 billion (1997) from the US
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1-3.5340 (December
1997), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994),
2.8301 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Communications
Telephones: 2.6 million (1996)
Telephone system: most highly developed system in the Middle East
although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations-3 Intelsat
(2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0
Radios: 2.25 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 20
Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)
@Israel:Transportation
Railways:
total: 610 km
standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)
Highways:
total: 15,065 km
paved: 15,065 km (including 56 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1996)
Pipelines: crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89
km
Ports and harbors: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel
Aviv-Yafo
Merchant marine:
total: 27 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 803,383 GRT/947,678 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, container 24, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1997
est.)
Airports: 54 (1997 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 31
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 7 (1997 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 18 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1997 est.)
@Israel:Military
Military branches: Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and
air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen
(women); note-historically there have been no separate Israeli
military services
Military manpower-military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower-availability:
males age 15-49: 1,446,634
females age 15-49: 1,414,898 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 1,183,989
females: 1,153,670 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 50,824
females: 48,661 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: $9.3 billion (1997)
Military expenditures-percent of GDP: 9.5% (1997)
@Israel:Transnational Issues
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; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Israeli troops in
southern Lebanon since June 1982
Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse
and trafficking
______________________________________________________________________
ITALY
@Italy:Geography
Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 42 50 N, 12 50 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Area-comparative: slightly larger than Arizona
Land boundaries:
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican
City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km
Coastline: 7,600 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in
south
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m
Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural
gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal
Land use:
arable land: 31%
permanent crops: 10%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 27,100 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows,
avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence
in Venice
Environment-current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions
such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from
industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes;
inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Tropical Timber 94
Geography-note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as
well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
@Italy:People
Population: 56,782,748 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,192,662; female 3,955,857)
15-64 years: 68% (male 19,265,714; female 19,369,554)
65 years and over: 18% (male 4,098,526; female 5,900,435) (July 1998
est.)
Population growth rate: -0.08% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 9.13 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.38 years
male: 75.26 years
female: 81.7 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.19 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian
Ethnic groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-,
and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
Languages: Italian, German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are
predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority
in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the
Trieste-Gorizia area)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96% (1990 est.)
@Italy:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy
Data code: IT
Government type: republic
National capital: Rome
Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular-regione);
Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise,
Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige,
Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto
Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Constitution: 1 January 1948
Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law
influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under
certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections,
where minimum age is 25)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the
president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 18 May
1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and
approved by the president
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a
seven-year term; election last held 25 May 1992 (next to be held NA
1999); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Oscar Luigi SCALFARO elected president; percent of
electoral college vote-NA
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the
Senate or Senato della Repubblica (326 seats, 315 popularly elected of
which 232 are directly elected and 83 by regional proportional
representation, 11 appointed senators-for-life; members serve
five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati
(630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional
representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate-last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by NA April
2001); Chamber of Deputies-last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by
NA April 2001)
election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-Olive Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27,
Refounded Communists 10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor
Flames 1, Panella Reformers 1; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by
party-NA; seats by party-Olive Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246,
Northern League 59, Refounded Communists 35, Southern Tyrol List 3,
Autonomous List 2, other 1
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale,
composed of 15 judges (one-third appointed by the president, one-third
elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and
administrative supreme courts)
Political parties and leaders:
Olive Tree (Ulivo): Democratic Party of the Left or PDS [Massimo
D'ALEMA]; Greens (Verdi) [Luigi MANCONI]; Italian Renewal or RI
[Lamberto DINI]; Italian Popular Party or PPI [Franco MARINI-elected
12 January 1997]
Freedom Pole: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National
Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Christian Democratic Center or CCD
[Clemente MASTELLA]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco
BUTTIGLIONE]
other: Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Communism Refoundation
or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or
MSI-Fiamma Tricolore [Pino RAUTI]; Pannella-Sgarbi's List (Lista
Pannella-Sgarbi) [Marco PANNELLA]; Italian Socialists or SI (also
called Radical Party or PR) [Ottaviano DEL TURCO]; Autonomous List (a
group of minor parties); Southern Tyrols List or SVP (German speakers)
Political pressure groups and leaders: the Roman Catholic Church;
three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale
Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione
Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centrist, and
Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-right); Italian
manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria,
Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori,
Confagricoltura)
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB,
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CE
(observer), CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-
7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINUGUA, MINURSO, MTCR, NAM (guest),
NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU,
WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO
chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 and 2700 16th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 328-5500
FAX: [1] (202) 483-2187
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los
Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco
consulate(s): Detroit and New Orleans
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas M. FOGLIETTA
embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624
telephone: [39] (6) 46741
FAX: [39] (6) 488-2672
consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples