Railroads:
Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge,
government owned; 485 km double track; 37 km electrified
Highways:
total:
92,294 km
paved:
87,422 km
unpaved:
gravel, crushed stone 4,872 km
Inland waterways:
limited for commercial traffic
Pipelines:
natural gas 225 km
Ports:
Cork, Dublin, Waterford
Merchant marine:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 139,278 GRT/173,325 DWT, bulk 4,
cargo 32, chemical tanker 2, container 4, oil tanker 3, refrigerated
cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 3
Airports:
total:
44
usable:
42
with permanent-surface runways:
14
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
7
Telecommunications:
modern system using cable and digital microwave circuits; 900,000
telephones; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 45 FM, 86 TV; 2 coaxial
submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
@Ireland, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda
Siochana)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 914,052; fit for military service 739,288; reach
military age (17) annually 33,809 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $500 million, 1.3% of GDP (1993)
@Israel
Header
Affiliation:
(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)
Note:
The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included
in the data below. In keeping with the framework established at the
Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being
conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives, Syria, and
Jordan to determine the final status of the occupied territories. On
25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979
Israel-Egypt Peace treaty.
@Israel, Geography
Location:
Middle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
and Lebanon
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
20,770 sq km
land area:
20,330 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
total 1,006 km, Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon
79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
Coastline:
273 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice
Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice
Line that separates the two countries; the Gaza Strip and Jericho,
formerly occupied by Israel, are now administered by the Palestinian
Authority; other areas of the West Bank outside Jericho are Israeli
occupied; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in
southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan
Climate:
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Terrain:
Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains;
Jordan Rift Valley
Natural resources:
copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt,
manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
Land use:
arable land:
17%
permanent crops:
5%
meadows and pastures:
40%
forest and woodland:
6%
other:
32%
Irrigated land:
2,140 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues:
limited arable land and freshwater resources pose serious constraints;
deforestation; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical
fertilizers, and pesticides
natural hazards:
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate
Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation
Note:
there are 200 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the
West Bank, 40 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 24 in the Gaza
Strip, and 25 in East Jerusalem (April 1994)
@Israel, People
Population:
5,050,850 (July 1994 est.)
note:
includes 110,500 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 14,000 in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 4,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 144,100
in East Jerusalem (1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.22% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
20.55 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6.43 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
8.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
77.96 years
male:
75.86 years
female:
80.16 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.83 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Israeli(s)
adjective:
Israeli
Ethnic divisions:
Jewish 83%, non-Jewish 17% (mostly Arab)
Religions:
Judaism 82%, Islam 14% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2%, Druze and
other 2%
Languages:
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English
most commonly used foreign language
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1983)
total population:
92%
male:
95%
female:
89%
Labor force:
1.9 million (1992)
by occupation:
public services 29.3%, industry 22.1%, commerce 13.9%, finance and
business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%, construction 6.5%,
transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, agriculture, forestry,
and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)
@Israel, Government