Economy - overview:
Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS)
declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the
combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population
growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of
Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in
response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and
commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most
serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment;
unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by
1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive
closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel
implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other
security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor.
These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in
1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the
outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of
Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor
movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military
measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the
destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure,
widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major
loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in
Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank
and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-22% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line:
60% (2002 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.)
Labor force:
NA
Labor force - by occupation:
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)
Unemployment rate:
50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $930 million
note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15
million
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 - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh
Electricity - imports:
NA kWh
Agriculture - products:
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Exports:
$603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip
Exports - commodities:
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)
Imports:
$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip
Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)
Debt - external:
$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)
Currency:
new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Currency code:
ILS; JOD
Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001),
4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997);
Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)
Fiscal year:
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)