esumed in September 1999 after a
three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian
Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement.

Gaza Strip Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: total: 360 sq km

land: 360 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington,
DC

Land boundaries: total: 62 km

border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation

Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m

highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources: arable land, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 24%

permanent crops: 39%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 11%

other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: droughts

Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh
water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation

Geography - note: there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land
use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)

Gaza Strip People

Population: 1,178,119 (July 2001 est.)

note: in addition, there are some 6,900 Israeli settlers in the
Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 49.89% (male 301,288; female 286,481)

15-64 years: 47.32% (male 283,274; female 274,189)

65 years and over: 2.79% (male 14,121; female 18,766) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.01% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 42.48 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.37 de