North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced
synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine
destined for Western Europe
______________________________________________________________________
ISRAEL
@Israel:Introduction
Background: Following World War II, the British withdrew from their
mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and
Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the
Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the
deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by
Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Isreal country
profile, unless otherwise noted. In keeping with the framework
established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral
negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian
representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip)
and Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. On 25 April
1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt
Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan
were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.
@Israel:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
and Lebanon
Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km
water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
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: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography - note: there are 231 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 1999 est.)
@Israel:People
Population: 5,842,454
note: includes about 171,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about
20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, about 6,500 in the Gaza
Strip, and about 172,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 825,443; female 787,159)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,831,142; female 1,820,424)
65 years and over: 9% (male 248,695; female 329,591) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.67% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 19.32 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.57 years
male: 76.57 years
female: 80.67 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
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.)
Religions: Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian
2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.)
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: parliamentary democracy
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; note - 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 Ehud BARAK (since 6 July 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister 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 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003); 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 a 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 reelected president by the 120-member
Knesset with a total of 63 votes, other candidate, Shaul AMOR,
received 49 votes (there were seven abstentions and one absence); Ehud
BARAK elected prime minister; percent of vote - Ehud BARAK 56.08%,
Binyamin NETANYAHU 43.92%
note: government coalition - One Israel, Shas, MERETZ, Yisra'el
Ba'Aliya, Center Party, National Religious Party
Legislative branch: unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - One Israel 20.2%, Likud
Party 14.1%, Shas 13%, MERETZ 7.6%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 5.1%, Shinui 5%,
Center Party 5%, National Religious Party 4.2%, United Torah Judaism
3.7%, United Arab List 3.4%, National Union 3%, Hadash 2.6%, Yisra'el
Beiteinu 2.6%, Balad 1.9%, One Nation 1.9%, Democratic Movement NA
(party formed after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya
list); seats by party - One Israel 26, Likud Party 19, Shas 17, MERETZ
10, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 4, Shinui 6, Center Party 6, National Religious
Party 5, United Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 5, National Union 4,
Hadash 3, Yisra'el Beiteinu 4, Democratic Movement 2 (party formed
after election, members elected under Yisra'el Ba'Aliya list), Balad
2, One Nation 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, appointed for life by the president
Political parties and leaders: Balad ; Center Party
; Democratic Movement ; Gesher
; Hadash ; Labor Party ;
Likud Party ; MERETZ ; Moledet [Rehavam
ZEEVI]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) ; National
Religious Party ; National Union
(includes Herut, Tekuma, Yisre'el Beiteinu and Moledet); One Israel
(includes Labor, Gesher, and Meimad); One Nation [Amir
PERETZ]; Shas ; Shinui ; Third Way
; Tzomet ; United Arab List [Abd
al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism ; Yisra'el
Ba'Aliya ; Yisra'el Beiteinu
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: 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), OPCW, OSCE (partner),
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador David IVRY
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 364-5500
FAX: (202) 364-5610
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 Martin S. INDYK
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address: PSC 98, Unit 7228, APO AE 09830
telephone: (3) 519-7575
FAX: (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. 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. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR
topped 750,000 during the period 1989-99, bringing the population of
Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth of the
total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of
substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with
the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized
Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth
began slowing in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and
monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Those
policies brought inflation down to record low levels in 1999 and,
coupled with improved prospects for the Middle East peace process, are
creating a climate for stronger GDP growth in the year 2000.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $105.4 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.1% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 17%
services: 81% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.9% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 2.3 million (1997)
Labor force - by occupation: public services 31.2%, 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: 9.1% (1999 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $42.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 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 - production: 35.338 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 31.805 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 1.061 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 2 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry,
dairy products
Exports: $23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, software, cut
diamonds, chemicals, textiles and apparel, agricultural products
Exports - partners: US 32%, UK, Hong Kong, Benelux, Japan, Netherlands
(1997)
Imports: $30.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, military equipment, investment
goods, rough diamonds, fuels, consumer goods
Imports - partners: US 19%, Benelux 12%, Germany 9%, UK 8%, Italy 7%,
Switzerland 6% (1997)
Debt - external: $18.7 billion (1997)
Economic aid - recipient: $1.1 billion from the US (1999)
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 4.2260 (November
1999), 3.8001 (1999), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996), 3.0113 (1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Israel:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.8 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.5 million (1999)
Telephone system: most highly developed system in the Middle East
although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all
systems are digital
international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.07 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 24 (plus 31 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 1.69 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 23 (1999)
@Israel:Transportation
Railways:
total: 610 km
standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)
Highways:
total: 15,965 km
paved: 15,965 km (including 56 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)
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: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 711,831 GRT/823,929 DWT
ships by type: container 19, roll-on/roll-off 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 58 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 7 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 25
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 20 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1999 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: 1,499,186
females age 15-49: 1,462,063 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,226,903
females age 15-49: 1,192,319 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 50,348
females: 47,996 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $8.7 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 9.4% (FY99)
@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;
drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and increasingly Jordan
______________________________________________________________________
ITALY
@Italy:Introduction
Background: Italy became a nation-state belatedly - in 1861 when the
city-states of the peninsula and Sicily were united under King Victor
EMMANUEL. The Fascist dictatorship of Benito MUSSOLINI that took over
after World War I led to a disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany and
Italian defeat in World War II. Revival followed. Italy was a charter
member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and joined
the growing political and economic unification of Western Europe,
including the introduction of the euro in 1999. Persistent problems
include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime,
corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical
standards of southern Italy compared with the more prosperous north.
@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 (Monte Bianco) 4,807 m
Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural
gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land
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-Sulphur 94, 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, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean
as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
@Italy:People
Population: 57,634,327 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,220,973; female 3,977,962)
15-64 years: 68% (male 19,413,219; female 19,596,668)
65 years and over: 18% (male 4,297,962; female 6,127,543) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.09% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.13 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 9.99 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.03 years
male: 75.85 years
female: 82.41 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.18 children born/woman (2000 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: predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and
Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Languages: Italian (official), 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: 98% (1998)
male: NA%
female: NA%
@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
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; Italy was
not finally unified until 1870)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Constitution: 1 January 1948
Legal system: based on civil law system; appeals treated as new
trials; 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)