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People
of Israel
Israel ( Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל,
Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِIsrāʾīl),
officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: 
מְדִינַת
יִשְׂרָאֵל
(,
Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَة
إِسْرَائِيل,
Dawlat
ʾIsrāʾīl), is a
parliamentary republic in the Middle East located on the
eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon
in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West
Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the
southwest, and contains geographically diverse features
within its relatively small area. Israel is the world's
only predominantly Jewish state, and is defined as "a
Jewish and democratic state" by the Israeli
government
Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli
War, Israeli law was enacted within the Green Line, as
defined in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Following their
internationally unrecognized annexation in 1980–81,
Israeli law was extended to East Jerusalem and the Golan
Heights, although most Arabs in these areas have declined
Israeli citizenship. Citizens of the State of Israel also
live in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East
Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The population, defined
by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics to include all
citizens and permanent residents in within Israel, the
Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and all Israeli settlements,
was estimated in May 2010 to be 7,602,400 people, of
whom 5,776,500 are Jewish. Arab citizens of Israel form
the country's second-largest ethnic group, which includes
Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans. According to
the May 2010 population estimate, including 300,000
non-citizen Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan
Heights, this minority numbers 1,551,400.
The modern State of Israel was
declared in 1948, and traces its historical and religious
roots to the Biblical Land of Israel, also known as Zion,
a concept central to Judaism since ancient times.
Political Zionism took shape in the late-19th century
Europe under Theodor Herzl, and the Balfour Declaration of
1917 formalized British policy preferring the
establishment of a national home for the Jewish people.
Following World War I, the League of Nations granted Great
Britain the Mandate for Palestine, which included
responsibility for securing "the establishment in
Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".
In November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the
partition of Palestine, proposing the creation of a Jewish
state, an Arab state, and a UN-administered Jerusalem.
Partition was accepted by the Zionist leadership but
rejected by Arab leaders, and a civil war began. Israel
declared independence on 14 May 1948 and neighboring Arab
states invaded the next day. Since then, Israel has fought
a series of wars with neighboring Arab states,and has
occupied territories, including the West Bank, Sinai
Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, beyond those
delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The border
between Israel and the neighboring West Bank is not
formally defined by the Israeli government,as a result of
a complex and unresolved political situation. Israel has
signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts
by elements within both parties to diplomatically solve
the problem have so far only met with limited success.
Israel is a developed country and a
representative democracy with a parliamentary system and
universal suffrage. The Prime Minister serves as head of
government and the Knesset serves as Israel's legislative
body. The economy, based on the nominal gross domestic
product, was the 41st-largest in the world in 2008.Israel
ranks highest among Middle Eastern countries on the UN
Human Development Index,and it has one of the highest life
expectancies in the world. Jerusalem is the country's
capital, although it is not recognized internationally as
such. Israel's main financial center is Tel Aviv, and its
main industrial center is Haifa. In 2010, Israel joined
the OECD. source Wikipedia
Jerusalem Market
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Population:
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7,353,985 (July
2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 96
note: approximately
296,700 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank
(2009 est.); approximately 19,100 Israeli settlers
live in the Golan Heights (2008 est.);
approximately 192,800 Israeli settlers live in
East Jerusalem (2008 est.)
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Age
structure:
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0-14 years: 27.9%
(male 1,031,629/female 984,230)
15-64 years: 62.3%
(male 2,283,034/female 2,221,301)
65 years and
over: 9.9%
(male 311,218/female 402,289) (2010 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 29.3
years
male: 28.6
years
female: 30
years (2010 est.)
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Population
growth rate:
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1.628% (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world: 75 |
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Birth rate:
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19.51
births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 98 |
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Death rate:
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5.45
deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 177 |
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Net
migration rate:
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2.22 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 38 |
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Urbanization:
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urban
population: 92%
of total population (2008)
rate of
urbanization: 1.7%
annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05
male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03
male(s)/female
65 years and
over: 0.78
male(s)/female
total
population: 1
male(s)/female (2010 est.)
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Infant
mortality rate:
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total: 4.17
deaths/1,000 live births
country
comparison to the world: 203
male: 4.34
deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.99
deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
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Life
expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 80.86
years
country
comparison to the world: 16
male: 78.7
years
female: 83.12
years (2010 est.)
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Total
fertility rate:
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2.72 children
born/woman (2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 76 |
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HIV/AIDS -
adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2007
est.)
country
comparison to the world: 122 |
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HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS:
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5,100 (2007
est.)
country
comparison to the world: 123 |
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HIV/AIDS -
deaths:
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fewer than 200
(2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 111 |
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Nationality:
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noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
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Ethnic
groups:
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Jewish 76.4%
(of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born
22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%),
non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
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Religions:
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Jewish 75.5%,
Muslim 16.8%, Christian 2.1%, Druze 1.7%, other
3.9% (2008)
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Languages:
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Hebrew
(official), Arabic used officially for Arab
minority, English most commonly used foreign
language
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Literacy:
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definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total
population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9%
(2004 est.)
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School life
expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 15
years
male: 15
years
female: 16
years (2008)
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Education
expenditures:
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6.4% of GDP
(2007)
country
comparison to the world: 30
cia
fact
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