West Bank - Country information


		West Bank	Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation

Population		Top of page

Inhabitants		Life expectancy
2,535,927		total population: 73.46 years male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups		Religions
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%		Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

Languages		Literacy
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

Economy		Top of page

GDP (purchasing power parity)		Growth rate
$3.45 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2003)		4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)

GDP per inhabitant		Unemployment rate
$1,500 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)		20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Population below poverty line		Inflation rate
45.7% (2005)		2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Exports		Imports
$301 million f.o.b.; (2005)		$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		Currency
		new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Military expenditures
NA

Geography		Top of page

Location		Area
Middle East, west of Jordan		5,860 sq km

Climate		Natural resources
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters		arable land

Le Monde en Fiches