Israel

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
People
- Religious and ethnic groups
  - Jews
    - Karaites
    - Samaritans
  - Arabs
    - Muslims
    - Christians
    - Druze
  - Other groups
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Resources
  - Mineral resources
  - Power
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Industry
  - Mining and quarrying
  - Manufacturing
- Services
  - Finance
  - Tourism
- Trade
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local and regional government
- Political process
- Occupation of Arab territories
- Justice
- The armed forces
- Education
- Health and welfare
Cultural life
- The cultural milieu
- The arts
- Sports
- Cultural institutions
- Press and broadcasting
History
- Origins of a modern Jewish state
  - Zionism
  - Immigration and conflict
- Establishment of Israel
  - The war of 1948
  - Armistice and refugees
- The Ben-Gurion era
  - Emergence of a nation
  - Continuing tensions
  - The Suez War
- Labour rule after Ben-Gurion
  - The Six-Day War
  - Troubled victory
  - The war of attrition
- The decline of Labour dominance
  - The Yom Kippur War
  - Political and social repercussions of the war
  - Diplomatic impasse
- Israel under Likud
  - The beginning of the peace process
  - Camp David
  - A cold peace
  - War in Lebanon
- The national unity government
  - The intifada
  - The question of Palestinian autonomy
  - The Gulf War and the Madrid Conference
- The Rabin government
  - The Oslo Accords
    - The Declaration of Principles and Cairo Agreement
    - Challenges to peace
  - Economic boom
  - Oslo II and Rabin’s assassination
- A new political landscape
  - Netanyahu’s first premiership
    - Crisis in the peace process
    - The Wye River Memorandum
  - The Barak gamble
  - The second intifada
  - Kadima and Olmert
- Netanyahu’s second stint
  - Early challenges
  - Relations with the Palestinians
    - Peace process stalled
    - Palestinian unilateral bid for statehood
    - Conflict in Gaza
  - Domestic politics
    - Socioeconomic protests and the challenge from the centre-left
    - Corruption charges and diminishing political support
    - Difficulty in coalition formation, frequent elections, and growing prominence of minority issues
- The Bennett-Lapid government
  - Premiership of Naftali Bennett
  - Premiership of Yair Lapid
- A changing society
Prime ministers of Israel

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Physical features of Israel

Israel: Ḥula Valley

Tel Aviv–Yafo, Israel: Jaffa port

Jerusalem: Damascus Gate

Israel: Urban-rural

For Students

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Israel: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

With the Gaza ceasefire in limbo, Israel tries to impose an alternative plan on Hamas • Mar. 3, 2025, 10:41 PM ET (AP)

Palestinians hope 'No Other Land' Oscar win brings help as they face possible Israeli expulsion • Mar. 3, 2025, 9:17 PM ET (AP)

Middle East latest: Arab countries are working on a postwar plan for Gaza • Mar. 3, 2025, 3:24 PM ET (AP)

Israel is criticized after it bars Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept a new ceasefire proposal • Mar. 3, 2025, 2:52 AM ET (AP)

‘No Other Land,' an Israeli-Palestinian collaboration, wins Oscar for best documentary • Mar. 2, 2025, 11:51 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	Isrāʾīl • Medinat Yisraʾel • State of Israel
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu
Capital (Proclaimed)	Jerusalem; international recognition of its capital status has largely been withheld.
Population	(2025 est.) 9,270,000¹
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 3.736 Israeli shekel
Head Of State	President: Isaac Herzog
Form Of Government	multiparty republic with one legislative house (Knesset [120])
Official Language	Hebrew³
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Medinat Yisraʾel (Hebrew); Dawlat Isrāʾīl (Arabic) (State of Israel)
Total Area (Sq Km)	22,072²
Total Area (Sq Mi)	8,522²
Monetary Unit	new Israeli sheqel (NIS)
Population Rank	(2025) 97¹
Population Projection 2030	9,949,000¹
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 1,087.8¹
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 420¹
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2024) 92.9% • Rural: (2024) 7.1%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 82.4 years • Female: (2021) 82.1 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (1983) 95% • Female: (1983) 89%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 533,223
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 54,650
¹Excludes Israelis in the West Bank.²Excludes the West Bank and Gaza Strip.³Arabic is designated a “special status” language with regulated use in state institutions.

Photos and Videos

Physical features of Israel

Israel: Ḥula Valley

Tel Aviv–Yafo, Israel: Jaffa port

Jerusalem: Damascus Gate

Dead Sea Scrolls

What is the relationship between Israel and Palestine?

Discover a historical milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship with the signing of the Declaration of Principles, 1993

National anthem of Israel

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

David Ben-Gurion on Theodor Herzl USS Liberty incident Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005 Israeli-Saudi peace deal Jerusalem in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Whose capital is it?two-state solution 1948 Arab-Israeli War Israel-Hamas War Abraham Accords Camp David Accords United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

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