Gaza Strip

§1. Gaza Strip Introduction

Background:
  The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
  Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided
  for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim
  self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel
  agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian
  Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the
  West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the
  Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994
  Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional
  areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim
  Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment
  in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4
  September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will
  retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and
  internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens.
  Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
  began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a
  second intifadah that broke out 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. The proposed date
  for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to
  violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their
  commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004
  and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005, bringing hope of
  a turning point in the conflict. In February 2005 Israel and the PA agreed
  to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an
  effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of
  different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides. In
  September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and
  dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West
  Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most
  access to the Gaza Strip. An agreement signed by the PA and Israel in
  November 2005 authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between
  the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control, with
  monitoring provided by the EU.

§2. Gaza Strip Geography

Location:
  Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates:
  31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references:
  Middle_East

Area:
  total: 360 kmē
  land: 360 kmē
  water: 0 kmē

Area - comparative:
  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:
  Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
  Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further
  negotiation

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 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources:
  arable land, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 29%
  permanent crops: 21%
  other: 50% (2002)

Irrigated land:
  120 kmē (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  droughts

Environment - current issues:
  desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne
  disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water
  resources

Geography - note:
  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

§3. Gaza Strip People

Population:
  1,428,757 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48.1% (male 351,642/female 335,060)
  15-64 years: 49.4% (male 360,147/female 345,318)
  65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,231/female 21,359) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 15.8 years
  male: 15.7 years
  female: 16 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  3.71% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  39.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 22.4 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 23.48 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 21.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.97 years
  male: 70.67 years
  female: 73.34 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  5.78 children born/woman (2006 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 and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions:
  Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages:
  Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 91.9%
  male: 96.3%
  female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

§4. Gaza Strip Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Gaza Strip
  local long form: none
  local short form: Qita Ghazzah

§5. Gaza Strip Economy

Economy - overview:
  High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and
  external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the
  smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more
  degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the second intifadah in
  September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli
  closure policies; these policies, which were imposed in response to
  security interests in Israel, disrupted labor and commodity relationships
  with the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli
  military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital
  plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business
  closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than 100,000
  Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel or in joint
  industrial zones have lost their jobs. Half the labor force is unemployed.
  Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offers some
  medium-term opportunities for economic growth, especially given the removal
  of restrictions on internal movement. In addition, recent agreements and
  continuing negotiations on the administration of Gaza's border crossings
  increase the prospects for trade.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $768 million (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  4.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 9%
  industry: 28%
  services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

Labor force:
  278,000 (April-June 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 11.9%, industry 18%, services 70.1% (April-June 2005)

Unemployment rate:
  31% (includes West Bank) (January-September 2005 avg.)

Population below poverty line:
  81% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  3% (includes West Bank) (2004)

Budget:
  revenues: $964 million
  expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note -
    these budget data include West Bank (2004)

Agriculture - products:
  olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

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, but operations
  ceased prior to Israel's evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the Gaza Strip power plant and by an
  Israeli utility

Electricity - consumption:
  NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
  NA kWh; note - some electricity supplied by an Israeli utility (2005)

Exports:
  $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Exports - commodities:
  citrus, flowers, textiles

Exports - partners:
  Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Imports:
  $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Imports - commodities:
  food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
  Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Debt - external:
  $0; note - includes West Bank (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $2 billion; note - includes West Bank (2004 est.)

Currency (code):
  new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Exchange rates:
  new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541
  (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Gaza Strip Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  357,300 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  974,300 (cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: NA
  domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are
    responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian
    JAWAL company provides cellular services
  international: country code - 970

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (2005)

Internet country code:
  .ps

Internet users:
  160,000 (includes West Bank) (2004)

§7. Gaza Strip Transportation

Airports:
  2 (2001)
  note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA), inaugurated on 24 November
    1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II
    Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum; GIA has been largely
    closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its runway was destroyed
    by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 1
  over 3,047 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 1
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Heliports:
  1 (2005)

Roadways:
  note: see entry for West Bank

Ports and terminals:
  Gaza

§8. Gaza Strip Military

Military branches:
  in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not
  permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, public security
  forces (2002)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA

§9. Gaza Strip Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject
  to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
  determined through further negotiation; Israel removed settlers and
  military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
  refugees (country of origin): 969,588 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2005)


<Factbook 2006>
