Disputes: Israeli occupied with status to be determined

Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: flat to rolling, sand and dune covered coastal plain

Natural resources: negligible

Land use: 13% arable land, 32% permanent crops, 0% meadows and pastures, 0% forest and woodland, 55% other

Environment: desertification

Note: there are 18 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip

- People Population: 615,575 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990); in addition, there are 2,500 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip

Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)