w coastal plain; central mountains;
Jordan Rift Valley

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m

Natural resources:
timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium
bromide, clays, sand

Land use:
arable land: 16.39%
permanent crops: 4.17%
other: 79.44% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,990 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic
earthquakes

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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation

Geography - note:
there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in
the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the
Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of
Galilee is an important freshwater source

People Israel

Population:
6,199,008
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank,
about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000
in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 847,591; female 808,399)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,976,539; female 1,954,782)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 262,781; female 348,916) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.2 years
male: 28.3 years
female: 30 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.29% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
18.45 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 7.96 deaths/1,0