total population: 91.9%
male: 96.3%
female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

Government Gaza Strip

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip
local long form: none
local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Economy Gaza Strip

Economy - overview:
High population density, limited land access, and strict internal
and external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza
Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority
- even more degraded than in the West Bank. An anticipated Israeli
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 may offer some medium-term
opportunities for economic growth. The beginning of the second
intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely
the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were
imposed in response to security interests in Israel, disrupted labor
and commodity relationships with the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even
more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in Palestinian
Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant,
the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business
closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than
100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel
or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. International aid
of $2 billion to Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 2004 prevented the
complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the
government's financial operations. Meanwhile unemployment has
continued at half the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves
open more political options that could affect the economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$768 million (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

Labor force:
725,000 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 14%, industry 19%, services 66% (2004)

Unemployment rate:
50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
81% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.