Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces

GAZA STRIP

 Note--The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
 Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), signed in Washington on 13
 September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five
 years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the
 West Bank. Under the DOP, final status negotiations are to begin no
 later than the beginning of the third year of the transitional period.

@Gaza Strip:Geography

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

 Map references: Middle East

 Area:
 total area: 360 sq km
 land area: 360 sq km
 comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

 Land boundaries: total 62 km, Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

 Coastline: 40 km

 Maritime claims: Israeli occupied with interim status subject to
 Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined

 International disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied
 with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations -
 final status to be determined

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

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

 Natural resources: negligible

 Land use:
 arable land: 13%
 permanent crops: 32%
 meadows and pastures: 0%
 forest and woodland: 0%
 other: 55%

 Irrigated land: 115 sq km (1992 est.)

 Environment:
 current issues: desertification
 natural hazards: NA
 international agreements: NA

 Note: there are 24 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in
 the Gaza Strip (August 1994 est.)

@Gaza Strip:People

 Population: 813,322 (July 1995 est.)
 note: in addition, there are 4,800 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip
 (August 1994 est.)

 Age structure:
 0-14 years: 52% (female 205,192; male 215,158)
 15-64 years: 45% (female 185,748; male 183,886)
 65 years and over: 3% (female 13,106; male 10,232) (July 1995 est.)

 Population growth rate: 4.55% (1995 est.)

 Birth rate: 50.24 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Death rate: 4.75 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Infant mortality rate: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

 Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 71.09 years
 male: 69.56 years
 female: 72.69 years (1995 est.)

 Total fertility rate: 7.74 children born/woman (1995 est.)

 Nationality:
 noun: NA
 adjective: NA

 Ethnic divisions: 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), English
 (widely understood)

 Literacy: NA%

 Labor force: NA
 by occupation: construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce,
 restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7%
 (1991)
 note: excluding Jewish settlers

@Gaza Strip:Government

 Note: Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
 Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer
 certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, and
 subsequently to an elected Palestinian Council, as part of interim
 self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A
 transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho
 has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement
 on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. 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
 Israelis. Final status is to be determined through direct negotiations
 within five years.

 Names:
 conventional long form: none
 conventional short form: Gaza Strip
 local long form: none
 local short form: Qita Ghazzah

 Digraph: GZ

Economy

 Overview: In 1991 roughly 40% of Gaza Strip workers were employed
 across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and
 agricultural enterprises, with worker remittances supplementing GDP by
 roughly 50%. Gaza depends upon Israel for nearly 90% of its external
 trade. Aggravating the impact of Israeli military administration,
 unrest in the territory since 1988 (intifadah) has raised unemployment
 and lowered the standard of living of Gazans. The Persian Gulf crisis
 and its aftershocks also have dealt blows to Gaza since August 1990.
 Worker remittances from the Gulf states have dropped, unemployment has
 increased, and exports have fallen. The withdrawal of Israel from the
 Gaza Strip in May 1994 brings a new set of adjustment problems.

 National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (1993
 est.)

 National product real growth rate: NA%

 National product per capita: $2,400 (1993 est.)

 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (1993)

 Unemployment rate: 45% (1994 est.)

 Budget:
 revenues: $33.6 million
 expenditures: $34.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
 (FY89/90)

 Exports: $83 million (f.o.b., 1992)
 commodities: citrus
 partners: Israel, Egypt

 Imports: $365 million (c.i.f., 1992)
 commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
 partners: Israel, Egypt

 External debt: $NA

 Industrial production: growth rate 11% (1991 est.)

 Electricity: power supplied by Israel

 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

 Agriculture: olives, citrus and other fruits; vegetables; beef and
 dairy products

 Economic aid: $240 million disbursed from international aid pledges in
 1994

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

 Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.0270 (December
 1994), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991),
 2.0162 (1990)

 Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

@Gaza Strip:Transportation

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

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

 Ports: Gaza

 Airports:
 total: 1
 with paved runways under 914 m: 1

@Gaza Strip:Communications

 Telephone system: NA; note - 10% of Palestinian households have
 telephones (1992 est.)
 local: NA
 intercity: NA
 international: NA

 Radio:
 broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0
 radios: NA; note - 95% of Palestinian households have radios (1992
 est.)

 Television:
 broadcast stations: 0
 televisions: NA; note - 59% of Palestinian households have televisions
 (1992 est.)

@Gaza Strip:Defense Forces

 Branches: NA

 Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP


________________________________________________________________________