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 Match 89   DB Rec# - 7,541  Dataset-WOFACT

Title         :Gaza Strip 
Text          : 
                                   Gaza Strip 
 
                                     Header 
 
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. 
 
                                    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.) 
 
                                     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 
 
                                   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) 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Railroads: 
  total: 
    NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains 
Highways: 
    NA 
  paved: 
    NA 
  unpaved: 
    NA 
  note: 
    small, poorly developed road network 
Ports: 
    Gaza 
Airports: 
  total: 
    1 
  with paved runways under 914 m: 
    1 
 
                                 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.) 
 
                                 Defense Forces 
 
Branches: 
    NA 
Defense expenditures: 
    $NA, NA% of GDP 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

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