@West Bank, Government
Note:
Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arragements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer
certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, and
subsequently to an elected Palestinian Council, as part of interim
self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A
transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho
has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement
on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. The DOP provides that Israel
will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external
security and for internal security and public order of settlements and
Israelis. Final status is to be determined through direct negotiations
within five years.
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
West Bank
Digraph:
WE
@West Bank, Economy
Overview:
Economic progress in the West Bank has been hampered by Israeli
military administration and the effects of the Palestinian uprising
(intifadah). Industries using advanced technology or requiring sizable
investment have been discouraged by a lack of local capital and
restrictive Israeli policies. Capital investment consists largely of
residential housing, not productive assets that would enable local
Palestinian firms to compete with Israeli industry. A major share of
GNP has traditionally been derived from remittances of workers
employed in Israel and Persian Gulf states. Such transfers from the
Gulf dropped after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In the wake of
the Persian Gulf crisis, many Palestinians have returned to the West
Bank, increasing unemployment, and export revenues have dropped
because of the decline of markets in Jordan and the Gulf states.
Israeli measures to curtail the intifadah also have added to
unemployment and lowered living standards. The area's economic
situation has worsened since Israel's partial closure of the
territories in 1993.
National product:
GNP - exchange rate conversion - $2 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-7% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$2,050 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
15% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$43.4 million
expenditures:
$43.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90)
Exports:
$175 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
olives, fruit, vegetables
partners:
Jordan, Israel
Imports:
$775 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials
partners:
Jordan, Israel
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -1% (1991); accounts for about 6% of GNP
Electricity:
power supplied by Israel
Industries:
generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap,
olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have
established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and
industrial centers
Agriculture:
accounts for about 23% of GNP; olives, citrus and other fruits,
vegetables, beef, and dairy products
Economic aid:
$NA
Currency:
1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) =
1,000 fils
Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 2.9760 (February 1994), 2.8301
(1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991), 2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989);
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7019 (February 1994), 0.6928
(1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
@West Bank, Communications
Highways:
total:
NA
paved:
NA
unpaved:
NA
note:
small road network, Israelis developing east-west axial highways to
service new settlements
Airports:
total:
2
usable:
2
with permanent-surface runways:
2
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
1
Telecommunications:
open-wire telephone system currently being upgraded; broadcast
stations - no AM, no FM, no TV
@West Bank, Defense Forces
Branches:
NA
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
@Western Sahara, Geography
Location:
Northern Africa, along the Atlantic Ocean, between Morocco and
Mauritania
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
266,000 sq km
land area:
266,000 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
total 2,046 km, Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline:
1,110 km
Maritime claims:
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
International disputes:
claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and
the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the
UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since
September 1991
Climate:
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog
and heavy dew
Terrain:
mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces
rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
19%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
81%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
sparse water and arable land
natural hazards:
hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and
spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely
restricting visibility
international agreements:
NA