Irrigated land:
1,940 sq km (2003)
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, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in
the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 0 in the
Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2005 est.); Sea of
Galilee is an important freshwater source
People Israel
Population:
6,352,117
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank,
about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than
177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 855,054/female 815,619)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 2,044,135/female 2,016,647)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 266,671/female 353,991) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 29.6 years
male: 28.8 years
female: 30.5 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.18% (2006 est.)