finition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95%
male: 97%
female: 93% (1992 est.)

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: republic

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 Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 18 June
1996)
cabinet: Cabinet selected from 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 29 May 1996 (early elections are scheduled for 17
May 1999); 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 the 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
appr