| |
VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF TREATIES
Bi-national Chambers of Commerce
Israel has a
diversified, technologically advanced economy with substantial but decreasing
government ownership and a strong high-tech sector. The major industrial sectors
include high-technology electronic and biomedical equipment, metal products,
processed foods, chemicals, and transport equipment. Israel possesses a
substantial service sector and is one of the world's centers for diamond cutting
and polishing. It also is a world leader in software development and, prior to
the violence that began in September 2000, was a major tourist destination.
Israel's
strong commitment to economic development and its talented work force led to
economic growth rates during the nation's first two decades that frequently
exceeded 10% annually. The years after the 1973 Yom Kippur War were a lost
decade economically, as growth stalled and inflation reached triple-digit
levels. The successful economic stabilization plan implemented in 1985 and the
subsequent introduction of market-oriented structural reforms reinvigorated the
economy and paved the way for rapid growth in the 1990s.
A wave of
Jewish immigration beginning in 1989, predominantly from the countries of the
former U.S.S.R., brought nearly a million new citizens to Israel. These new
immigrants, many of them highly educated, now constitute some 13% of Israel's
6.7 million inhabitants. Their successful absorption into Israeli society and
its labor force forms a remarkable chapter in Israeli history. The skills
brought by the new immigrants and their added demand as consumers gave the
Israeli economy a strong upward push and in the 1990’s, they played a key role
in the ongoing development of Israel's high-tech sector.
During the
1990s, progress in the Middle East peace process, beginning with the Madrid
Conference of 1991, helped to reduce Israel's economic isolation from its
neighbors and opened up new markets to Israeli exporters farther afield. The
peace process stimulated an unprecedented inflow of foreign investment in
Israel, and provided a substantial boost to economic growth in the region over
the last decade. The onset of the intifada beginning at the end of September of
2000, the downturn in the high-tech sector and Nasdaq crisis, and the slowdown
of the global economy have all significantly affected the Israeli economy.
However, despite the recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli economy
grew during 2006.
|
Israel has a
technologically advanced market economy. It depends on imports of crude
oil,grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural
resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial
sectors over the past 20 years. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and
agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports.
Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large
transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the
government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic
and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002
due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector,
grew about 5% per year from 2003-07. The global financial crisis of 2008-09
spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with
solid fundamentals - following years of prudent fiscal policy and a series
of liberalizing reforms - and a resilient banking sector, and the economy
has rebounded quickly. Following GDP growth of 4% in 2008, Israel's GDP
contracted 0.3% in 2009 but is expected to expand in 2010. The global
economic downturn affected Israel's economy primarily through reduced demand
for Israel's exports - which account for about 45% of the country's GDP - in
the United States and EU, Israel's top trading partners. The Israeli
Government responded to the recession by implementing a fiscal stimulus
package and an aggressive expansionary monetary policy - including cutting
interest rates to record lows, purchasing government bonds, and intervening
in the foreign currency market.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$205.2 billion (2009 est.)
$205.9 billion (2008 est.)
$197.6 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
[see also:
GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
GDP (official exchange rate):
$215.7 billion (2009 est.)
[see also:
GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
GDP - real growth rate:
-0.3% (2009 est.)
4.2% (2008 est.)
5.2% (2007 est.)
[see also:
GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
GDP - per capita:
$28,400 (2009 est.)
$28,900 (2008 est.)
$28,300 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
[see also:
GDP - per capita country ranks ]
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.6%
[see also:
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks
]
industry: 32%
[see also:
GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks
]
services: 65.4% (2009 est.)
[see also:
GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks
]
Labor force:
3.01 million (2009 est.)
[see also:
Labor force country ranks ]
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2%
[see also:
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks
]
industry: 16%
[see also:
Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks
]
services: 82% (30 September 2008)
[see also:
Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks
]
Unemployment rate:
8% (2009 est.)
6.1% (2008 est.)
[see also:
Unemployment rate country ranks ]
Population below poverty line:
23.6%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per
person per day (2005)
[see also:
Population below poverty line country ranks ]
Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
[see also:
Household income or consumption by percentage share -
lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 24.3% (2007)
[see also:
Household income or consumption by percentage share -
highest 10% country ranks ]
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
39.2 (2008)
35.5 (2001)
[see also:
Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks
]
Investment (gross fixed):
17.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
[see also:
Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
Budget:
revenues: $54.1 billion
[see also:
Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $64.24 billion (2009 est.)
[see also:
Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
Public debt:
83.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
76.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
[see also:
Public debt country ranks ]
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.4% (2009 est.)
4.6% (2008 est.)
[see also:
Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks
]
Central bank discount rate:
2.5% (31 December 2008)
4% (31 December 2007)
[see also:
Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
6.06% (31 December 2008)
6.27% (31 December 2007)
[see also:
Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks
]
Stock of money:
$20.73 billion (31 December 2007)
$15.36 billion (31 December 2006)
[see also:
Stock of money country ranks ]
Stock of quasi money:
$171.6 billion (31 December 2008)
$154.3 billion (31 December 2007)
[see also:
Stock of quasi money country ranks ]
Stock of domestic credit:
$145.2 billion (31 December 2007)
$113.4 billion (31 December
2006)
[see also:
Stock of domestic credit country ranks
]
Market value of publicly traded
shares:
$134.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$236.4 billion (31 December
2007)
$173.3 billion (31 December
2006)
[see also:
Market value of publicly traded shares
country ranks ]
Agriculture - products:
citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry,
dairy products
Industries:
high-technology projects (including
aviation, communications, computer-aided
design and manufactures, medical
electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper
products, potash and phosphates, food,
beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda,
cement, construction, metals products,
chemical products, plastics, diamond
cutting, textiles, footwear
Industrial production
growth rate:
-1.5% (2009 est.)
[see also:
Industrial production growth rate
country ranks ]
Electricity - production:
50.41 billion kWh (2007 est.)
[see also:
Electricity - production country ranks
]
Electricity - consumption:
46.15 billion kWh (2007 est.)
[see also:
Electricity - consumption country ranks
]
Electricity - exports:
2.081 billion kWh (2007 est.)
[see also:
Electricity - exports country ranks
]
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also:
Electricity - imports country ranks
]
Oil - production:
5,246 bbl/day (2008 est.)
[see also:
Oil - production country ranks
]
Oil - consumption:
235,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
[see also:
Oil - consumption country ranks
]
Oil - exports:
69,580 bbl/day (2007 est.)
[see also:
Oil - exports country ranks ]
Oil - imports:
318,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
[see also:
Oil - imports country ranks ]
Oil - proved reserves:
1.94 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
[see also:
Oil - proved reserves country ranks
]
Natural gas - production:
1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
[see also:
Natural gas - production country ranks
]
Natural gas - consumption:
1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
[see also:
Natural gas - consumption country ranks
]
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
[see also:
Natural gas - exports country ranks
]
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
[see also:
Natural gas - imports country ranks
]
Natural gas - proved
reserves:
30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
[see also:
Natural gas - proved reserves country
ranks ]
Current account balance:
$5.465 billion (2009 est.)
$1.596 billion (2008
est.)
[see also:
Current account balance country ranks
]
Exports:
$44.35 billion (2009 est.)
$60.83 billion (2008
est.)
[see also:
Exports country ranks ]
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, software, cut
diamonds, agricultural products,
chemicals, textiles and apparel
Exports - partners:
US 32.5%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 6.7%
(2008)
Imports:
$47.4 billion (2009 est.)
$67.66 billion (2008
est.)
[see also:
Imports country ranks ]
Imports -
commodities:
raw materials, military equipment,
investment goods, rough diamonds,
fuels, grain, consumer goods
Imports - partners:
US 12.3%, Belgium 6.5%, China 6.5%,
Switzerland 6.1%, Germany 6% (2008)
Reserves of foreign
exchange and gold:
$56.64 billion (31 December 2009
est.)
|
|
