| Gaza Strip |
Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues

Gaza Strip | Introduction | Top of Page

Background: | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. 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 Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement.

Gaza Strip | Geography | Top of Page

Location: | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates: | 31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references: | Middle East

Area: | total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: | total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: | 40 km

Maritime claims: | Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation

Climate: | temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: | flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources: | arable land, natural gas

Land use: | arable land: 24% permanent crops: 39% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 11% other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: | 120 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: | droughts

Environment - current issues: | desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation

Geography - note: | there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)

Gaza Strip | People | Top of Page

Population: | 1,178,119 (July 2001 est.) note: in addition, there are some 6,900 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)

Age structure: | 0-14 years: 49.89% (male 301,288; female 286,481) 15-64 years: 47.32% (male 283,274; female 274,189) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 14,121; female 18,766) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: | 4.01% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: | 42.48 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: | 1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: | 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: | 25.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 71.01 years male: 69.76 years female: 72.32 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: | 6.42 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA

Nationality: | noun: NA adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: | Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions: | Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages: | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy: | definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Gaza Strip | Government | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Gaza Strip | Economy | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | Economic output in the Gaza Strip - which comes under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - declined perhaps one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $1.11 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: | -7.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% (1999 est., includes West Bank)

Population below poverty line: | NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 3% (includes West Bank) (2000 est.)

Labor force: | NA

Labor force - by occupation: | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Unemployment rate: | 40% (includes West Bank) (yearend 2000)

Budget: | revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes West Bank (1999 est.)

Industries: | generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center

Industrial production growth rate: | NA%

Electricity - production: | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

Electricity - consumption: | NA kWh

Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

Agriculture - products: | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Exports: | $682 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.) (includes West Bank)

Exports - commodities: | citrus, flowers

Exports - partners: | Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Imports: | $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.) (includes West Bank)

Imports - commodities: | food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners: | Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Debt - external: | $108 million (1997 est.) (includes West Bank)

Economic aid - recipient: | $121 million disbursed (2000) (includes West Bank)

Currency: | new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code: | ILS

Exchange rates: | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996)

Fiscal year: | calendar year

Gaza Strip | Communications | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: | NA

Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an open wire system international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations: | 2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)

Televisions: | NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 3 (1999)

Internet users: | 23,520 (1999) (includes West Bank)

Gaza Strip | Transportation | Top of Page

Railways: | total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains

Highways: | total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network

Waterways: | none

Ports and harbors: | Gaza

Airports: | 2 note: includes Gaza International Airport that opened on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Gaza Strip | Military | Top of Page

Military branches: | NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA%

Gaza Strip | Transnational Issues | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation