Economy
Overview: Economic progress in the West
Bank has been hampered by Israeli military
occupation and the effects of the
Palestinian uprising. Industries using
advanced technology or requiring sizable
financial resources have been discouraged
by a lack of financial resources and Israeli
policy. Capital investment has largely
gone into residential housing, not into
productive assets that could compete with
Israeli industry. A major share of GNP is
derived from remittances of workers
employed in Israel and neighboring Gulf
states. Israeli reprisals against Palestinian
unrest in the West Bank since 1987 have
pushed unemployment up and lowered
living standards.
GNP: $1.0 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate -15% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $47.4 million; expenditures $45.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY86)
Exports: $150 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities—NA; partners—Jordan, Israel
Imports: $410 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities—NA; partners—Jordan, Israel
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: power supplied by Israel
Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Agriculture: olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, beef, and dairy products
Aid: none
Currency: new Israeli shekel (plural—shekels) and Jordanian dinar (plural—dinars); 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot and 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1.000 fils
Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1—1.9450 (January 1990), 1.9164 (1989), 1.5992 (1988), 1.5946 (1987), 1.4878 (1986), 1.1788 (1985); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1—0.6557 (January 1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3715 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: small indigenous road network,
Israelis developing east-west axial
highways
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: open-wire telephone system currently being upgraded; stations—no AM, no FM, no TV
Defense Forces
Branches: NA
Military manpower: NA
Defense expenditures: NA
Western Sahara
_Western_Sahara.jpg)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 266,000 km²; land area:
266,000 km²
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries: 2,046 km total; Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline: 1,110 km
Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Disputes: claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and guerrilla fighting continues in the area
Climate: hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore currents produce fog and heavy dew
Terrain: mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore
Land use: NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 81% other
Environment: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility; sparse water and arable land
People
Population: 191,707 (July 1990), growth
rate 2.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 23 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 177 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 39 years male, 41 years female (1990)
