Israel- country profile

Country Profile
Physical Geography
1. Official Name of country: State of Israel
2. Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern or eastern desert areas
3. Map:

4. Absolute Location: 31 to 30 degree North; 34 to 45 East
5. Relative Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon, bordering Jordan
Political Geography
1. Type of Government: parliamentary democracy
2. Capital: Jerusalem
International Organization Participation: BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD (accession state), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
3. Size of Armed Forces:
Cultural Geography
1. Official Language: Hebrew
2. Other languages spoken: Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
3. Ethnic Composition:
I. Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%)
II. non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab)
4. Major Religion: Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9%
5. Population: 6276900
6. Population Growth Rate: 1.671%
7. Population Distribution:
I 0~14 years: 27.9%
II 15~64 years: 62.3%
III 65 years and over: 9.9%
8. Major Cities: Ashdod, Jerusalem
9. Infant Mortality Rate: 4.22 deaths/1000 live birth
10. Average life expectancy: 80.73 years
Economical Geography
1. GNP (Gross National Products):
2. GDP (Gross Domestic Products): 203.4 billion (purchasing power parity)
3. Percent of Arable Land Used for Agriculture: 15.5%
4. Natural Resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
5. Major Agriculture Products: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
6. Industrial Products: high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear
7. Major exports: machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
8. Major imports: raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
9. Currency: New Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar: 3.56
10. Historical Events:
1516-1918 Ottoman: During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were rebuilt. Population of the Jewish community in Jerusalem increased.
1881 first modern immigration known as first aliyah (fled Pogrom)
917-1948 British: Great Britain recognized the rights of the Jewish people to establish a "national home in Palestine". Yet they greatly curtailed entry of Jewish refugees into Israel even after World War II. They split Palestine mandate into an Arab state which has become the modern day Jordan, and Israel.
1948 War of Independence: (Arab, Israeli war) one day after the creation of the State of Israel, the Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon invaded the new Jewish state. Armistice agreements were signed with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria based on the frontlines as they were at the end of the fighting. These lines created the borders of the new state and as a result, Israel gained control of the areas which would have been part of the Arab state envisioned by the UN had the Arab world not gone to war with Israel.
1956 Sinai War: Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, threatening British and French interests in oil supplies and western trade. Their interests converging, Israel, Britain and France planned an attack on Egypt, with the former seeking free navigation through international waters and an end to terrorist attacks and the latter two hoping to seize control of the Suez Canal.
1967 Six Day War: May 16th ~ 22nd
1973 Yom Kippur War: from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states backing Egypt and Syria.