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

Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 4% other: 79% (1998 est.)

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, 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,
25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2001 est.);
Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source

People Israel

Population: 6,029,529 (July 2002 est.) note: includes about 182,000
Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights, fewer than 7,000 in the Gaza Strip, and about 176,000 in
East Jerusalem (August 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491; female 798,695) 15-64
years: 63% (male 1,905,677; female 1,889,525) 65 years and over: 9.9%
(male 257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.48% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 18.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 81.01 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.08% (1