Palestinian Territory Population: 1,763,387
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| Background | |
| The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel still controls maritime, airspace, and other access to the Gaza Strip; Israel also enforces a restricted zone along the border inside Gaza. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community, leading to the imposition of economic sanctions on the Palestinian government for its refusal to renounce violence, recognize Israel, and adhere to the previous agreements. Violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007 resulted in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. In February 2007, ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau chief Khalid MISHAL signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June 2007, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS that same month dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. Late November 2007 through June 2008 witnessed a substantial increase in violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the HAMAS-controlled Gaza Strip. An Egyptian-brokered truce in June 2008 between Israel and HAMAS brought about a five-month pause in hostilities, but spiraling end-of-year violence led to an Israeli air campaign and ground invasion into the Gaza Strip from December 2008 to January 2009 that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,100 to 1,400 Palestinians and left tens of thousands homeless. Fatah and HAMAS in May 2011, under the auspices of Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation negotiations, agreed to reunify the Palestinian territories, but the factions have struggled to implement details on governing and security structures despite the signing of subsequent agreements in February and May 2012. In November 2012, an Israeli airstrike killed a top commander in HAMAS's military wing, initiating an eight-day Israeli aerial campaign in Gaza. Israel cited increased rocket attacks from Palestinian militants into Israel as the reason for initiating the campaign. Egypt brokered a cease-fire between Israel and HAMAS on 21 November 2012. The status quo remains with HAMAS in control of the Gaza Strip and ABBAS and the Fatah-dominated PA governing the West Bank. |
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| Geography | |
| Strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history | |
| Location: | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel |
| Geographic coordinates: | 31 25 N, 34 20 E |
| Area: | total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km Size comparison: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km |
| Coastline: | 40 km |
| Maritime claims: | see entry for Israel note: effective 3 January 2009 the Gaza maritime area is closed to all maritime traffic and is under blockade imposed by Israeli Navy until further notice |
| Climate: | temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers |
| Terrain: | flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m |
| Natural resources: | arable land, natural gas |
| Land use: | arable land: 29% permanent crops: 21% other: 50% (2002) |
| Irrigated land: | 180 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | droughts |
| Current Environment Issues: | desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources |
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| People | |
| Population: | 1,763,387 (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 43.5% (male 394,108/female 372,897) 15-24 years: 20.9% (male 188,626/female 179,529) 25-54 years: 29.6% (male 268,122/female 254,630) 55-64 years: 3.4% (male 29,682/female 29,933) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 18,701/female 27,159) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 17.9 years male: 17.7 years female: 18.1 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 3.108% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 34.3 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 3.22 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 16.55 deaths/1,000 live births male: 17.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 74.16 years male: 72.48 years female: 75.95 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 4.41 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA |
| Nationality: | noun: NA adjective: NA |
| Ethnic groups: | Palestinian Arab |
| Religions: | Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99.3%, Christian 0.7% |
| Languages: | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita' Ghazzah |
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| Economy | |
| Israeli security controls imposed since the end of the second intifada have degraded economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli-imposed border closures, which became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007, have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector that had relied primarily on export markets. The population depends on government spending - by both the Palestinian Authority and HAMAS's de facto government - and humanitarian assistance. Changes to Israeli restrictions on imports in 2010 resulted in a rebound in some economic activity, but regular exports from Gaza still are not permitted. Standard-of-living measures remain below levels seen in the mid-1990s. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): see entry for West Bank |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | |
| GDP - real growth rate: | see entry for West Bank |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): see entry for West Bank |
| GDP - composition by sector: | see entry for West Bank |
| Labor force: | 348,200 (2010) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 5.1% industry: 15.6% services: 79.3% (2010 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 30% (2012 est.) 40% (2011 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 38% (2010 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (2012 est.) 2.9% (2011 est.) note: includes West Bank |
| Budget: | see entry for West Bank |
| Agriculture - products: | olives, fruit, vegetables, flowers; beef, dairy products |
| Industries: | textiles, food processing, furniture |
| Industrial production growth rate: | see entry for West Bank |
| Electricity - production: | 51,000 kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 218 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 202,000 kWh (2009) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2011 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 193,000 kWh (2011 est.) |
| Current account balance: | see entry for West Bank |
| Exports: | see entry for West Bank |
| Exports - commodities: | strawberries, carnations, vegetables (small and irregular shipments, as permitted to transit the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing) |
| Imports: | see entry for West Bank |
| Imports - commodities: | food, consumer goods note: Israel permits basic commercial imports through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but many "dual use" goods, such as construction materials and electronics, are smuggled through tunnels beneath Gaza's border with Egypt |
| Debt - external: | see entry for West Bank |
| Exchange rates: | new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.903 (2012 est.) 3.5781 (2011 est.) 3.739 (2010 est.) 3.9323 (2009) 3.56 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 337,000 (includes West Bank) (2010) country comparison to the world: 112 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 2.405 million (includes West Bank) (2010) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: Gaza continues to repair the damage to its telecommunications infrastructure caused by fighting in 2009 domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services; the Palestinian JAWWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2009) |
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| Internet country code: | .ps; note - same as West Bank |
| Internet hosts: | |
| Internet users: | 1.379 million (includes West Bank) (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 1 (2012) country comparison to the world: 218 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2012) |
| Heliports: | 1 (2012) |
| Roadways: | note: see entry for West Bank |
| Ports and terminals: | Gaza |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Hamas does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip, but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the external Hamas Political Bureau leadership, which has been in exile in Cairo and Doha since closing its Damascus headquarters in late 2011 (2013) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 385,961 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 335,820 females age 16-49: 319,847 (2010 est.) |
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