_#_Language: Hebrew (official); Arabic used officially for Arab minority; English most commonly used foreign language
_#_Literacy: 92% (male 95%, female 89%) age 15 and over can read and write (1983)
_#_Labor force: 1,400,000 (1984 est.); public services 29.3%; industry, mining, and manufacturing 22.8%; commerce 12.8%; finance and business 9.5%; transport, storage, and communications 6.8%; construction and public works 6.5%; personal and other services 5.8%; agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.5%; electricity and water 1.0% (1983)
_#_Organized labor: 90% of labor force
_*Government #_Long-form name: State of Israel
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem 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)
_#_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