Page last updated on January 31, 2014
From the early 16th century through 1917, the area now known as the West Bank fell under Ottoman rule. Following World War I, the Allied powers (France, UK, Russia) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the UN passed a resolution to establish two states within the Mandate, and designated a territory including what is now known as the West Bank as part of the proposed Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the area was captured by Transjordan (later renamed Jordan). Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian border zone, the West Bank has remained under Israeli military control. Under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled after the outbreak of an intifada in mid- 2000. In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states - Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political party) as the PA president, Israel and the PA agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and redeployed its military from several West Bank settlements but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government. Attempts to form a unity government failed, and violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and HAMAS in early 2011 agreed to reunify the Gaza Strip and West Bank, but the factions have struggled to implement details on governance and security. The status quo remains with HAMAS in control of the Gaza Strip and the PA governing the West Bank. Since the collapse of direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians in late 2010, President ABBAS has reaffirmed that he will not resume negotiations until Israel halts all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel
total: 5,860 sq km
country comparison to the world: 172
land: 5,640 sq km
water: 220 sq km
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
slightly smaller than Delaware
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
arable land: 7.39%
permanent crops: 10.96%
other: 81.64% (2011)
240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
adequacy of freshwater supply; sewage treatment
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 355 Israeli civilian sites including about 145 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 32 sites in East Jerusalem (2010 est.)
Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
2,676,740 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
note: approximately 341,400 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank (2012); approximately 196,400 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2011)
0-14 years: 34.4% (male 472,123/female 447,803)
15-24 years: 21.8% (male 298,875/female 284,545)
25-54 years: 35.9% (male 494,253/female 466,660)
55-64 years: 4.2% (male 55,785/female 55,872)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 42,119/female 58,705) (2013 est.)
total dependency ratio: 75.6 %
youth dependency ratio: 70.4 %
elderly dependency ratio: 5.2 %
potential support ratio: 19.2
note: data represents the Palestinian Territories (2013)
total: 22 years
male: 21.8 years
female: 22.1 years (2013 est.)
2.03% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
23.81 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66
3.53 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 214
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
urban population: 74.3% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: 3.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
64 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 96
total: 13.98 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 120
male: 15.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
total population: 75.46 years
country comparison to the world: 92
male: 73.38 years
female: 77.67 years (2013 est.)
2.91 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
2.2% (2007)
country comparison to the world: 115
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.3%
male: 97.9%
female: 92.6%
notes: estimates are for the Palestinian Territories (2011 est.)
total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2006)
total: 38.8%
country comparison to the world: 15
male: 34.5%
female: 62.2%
note: includes Gaza (2012)
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank
The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - has sustained a moderate rate of economic growth since 2008. Inflows of donor aid and government spending have driven most of the gains, however. Private sector development has been weak. After a multiyear downturn following the start of the second intifada in 2000, overall standard-of-living measures have recovered and now exceed levels seen in the late 1990s. Despite the Palestinian Authority's (PA) successful implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli Government, Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce, eroding the productive capacity of the West Bank economy. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' inability to access land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas, import and export restrictions, and a high-cost capital structure. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs, and West Bank economic activity will depend largely on the PA''s ability to attract such aid.
$8.022 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
note: includes Gaza Strip
$6.641 billion
note: includes Gaza Strip (2008 est.)
5.7% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
note: includes Gaza Strip
$2,900 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 176
note: includes Gaza Strip
household consumption: 102.8%
government consumption: 30.3%
investment in fixed capital: 17.9%
investment in inventories: -4.2%
exports of goods and services: 16.3%
imports of goods and services: -63.1%
agriculture: 4.2%
industry: 17.9%
services: 77.9%
note: includes Gaza Strip (2012 est.)
olives, citrus fruit, vegetables; beef, dairy products
small-scale manufacturing, quarrying, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs
5.7%
country comparison to the world: 47
982,300 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 28.4%
services: 55.5%
note: includes Gaza Strip (2010 est.)
23% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 28.2% (2009 est.)
revenues: $2.1 billion
expenditures: $3.2 billion
note: includes Palestinian Authority expenditures in the Gaza Strip (2011 est.)
31.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
-16.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 214
2.8% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
note: includes Gaza Strip
6.97% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131
$180.2 million (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
$6.674 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
$1.042 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 151
$2.532 billion (31 December 2011)
country comparison to the world: 95
$-2.205 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
$666.1 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
note: includes Gaza Strip
stone, olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
$5.474 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
note: data include the Gaza Strip
food, consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum, chemicals
$1.04 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161
note: data include the Gaza Strip
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar -
445 million kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
4.573 billion kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
0 kWh (2012)
country comparison to the world: 147
550 million kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
140,000 kW
country comparison to the world: 164
note: includes Gaza Strip (2010 est.)
100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 207
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 205
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
0 bbl (1 January 2009 es)
country comparison to the world: 203
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 143
29,310 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
514.8 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
16,330 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 208
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 208
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 206
0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
0 cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 205
2.502 million Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 143
406,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2012)
country comparison to the world: 104
3.041 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2012)
country comparison to the world: 132
general assessment: continuing political and economic instability has impeded significant liberalization of the telecommunications industry
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; PALTEL plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Jordan to route domestic mobile calls; the Palestinian JAWWAL company and WATANIYA PALESTINE provide cellular services
international: country code - 970; 1 international switch in Ramallah (2009)
the Palestinian Authority operates 1 TV and 1 radio station; about 30 independent TV and 25 radio stations; both Jordanian TV and satellite TV are accessible (2008)
.ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
1.379 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2009)
country comparison to the world: 88
2 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 208
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
total: 4,686 km
country comparison to the world: 153
paved: 4,686 km
note: includes Gaza Strip (2010)
males age 16-49: 579,248
females age 16-49: 547,782 (2010 est.)
male: 30,925
female: 29,440 (2010 est.)
the current status of the West Bank is subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
