Part 413

Flag description: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag

Economy

Economy - overview: Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. 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. Manufacturing and construction employ about 29% of Israeli workers, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, and services the rest. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account 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, which is its major source of economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel has been targeting high-technology niches in international markets, such as medical scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR, which topped 750,000 during the period 1989-96, initially increased unemployment, intensified housing problems, and strained the government budget. At the same time, the immigrants bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $85.7 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.6% (1996)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $16,400 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5% industry: 22% services: 74.5%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 11.3% (1996)

Labor force: total: 2.2 million (1996) by occupation : public services 29.3%, manufacturing 22.1%, construction 6.5%, commerce 13.9%, finance and business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (1996)

Budget: revenues: $41 billion expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996)

Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment, electrical equipment, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 8% (1995)

Electricity - capacity: 6.92 million kW (1995 est.)

Electricity - production: 30.4 billion kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 4,738 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

Exports: total value: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities : machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals, textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals partners: US, EU, Japan

Imports: total value: $28.3 billion (c.i.f., 1996) commodities : military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, oil, other productive inputs, consumer goods partners: EU, US, Japan

Debt - external: $25.7 billion (1996)

Economic aid: recipient : total receipts $12.14 billion of which $11.38 billion from the US (1990-93)

Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.2761 (January 1997), 3.2882 (1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

@Israel:Communications

Telephones: 2.425 million (1990 est.)

Telephone system: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest domestic : good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0