Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 4% other: 79% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,990 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Environment - current issues: limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed,
but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2001 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source
People Israel
Population: 6,029,529 (July 2002 est.) note: includes about 182,000
Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights, fewer than 7,000 in the Gaza Strip, and about 176,000 in
East Jerusalem (August 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.1% (male 837,491; female 798,695) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,677; female 1,889,525) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 257,066; female 341,075) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.48% (2002 est.)