Israel

State of Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל (Hebrew) اسرائيل (Arabic)
Flag Emblem
Anthem: Hatikvah (English: "The Hope")
Territories recognized by the UN   Territories recognized by Israel but not by the UN
Capital and largest city	Jerusalem[fn 1] 31°47′N 35°13′E / 31.783°N 35.217°E / 31.783; 35.217
Official languages	Hebrew
Recognized languages	Arabic[fn 2]
Ethnic groups (2019)	74.2% Jewish 20.9% Arab 4.8% other
Religion (2019)	74.2% Judaism 17.8% Islam 2.0% Christianity 1.6% Druze 4.4% other
Demonym(s)	Israeli
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Isaac Herzog
• Prime Minister	Benjamin Netanyahu
• Knesset Speaker	Yariv Levin
• Chief Justice	Esther Hayut
Legislature	Knesset
Independence from the British Empire
• Declaration	14 May 1948
• Admission to the United Nations	11 May 1949
• Basic Laws	1958–2018
Area
• Total	22,072 km2 (8,522 sq mi)[a] (150th)
• Water (%)	2.1
Population
• 2017 estimate	9,880,480[14] (99th)
• 2008 census	7,412,200[15]
• Density	448/km2 (1,160.3/sq mi) (35th)
GDP (PPP)	2020[16] estimate
• Total	$372.314 billion (51st)
• Per capita	$40,336 (34th)
GDP (nominal)	2020[16] estimate
• Total	$410.501 billion (31st)
• Per capita	$44,474 (19th)
Gini (2018)	34.8[17] medium · 48th
HDI (2019)	0.919[18] very high · 19th
Currency	New shekel (₪) (ILS)
Time zone	UTC+2 (IST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (IDT)
Date format	יי-חח-שששש (AM) dd-mm-yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+972
ISO 3166 code	IL
Internet TLD	.il
Website https://www.gov.il/en
^ 20,770 km2 is Israel within the Green Line. 22,072 km2 includes the annexed Golan Heights (c. 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi)) and East Jerusalem (c. 64 km2 (25 sq mi)).

Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל) officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל) is a country in southwestern Asia on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel's population is 9.8 million people, of whom 7 million are Jewish. Almost all the other citizens of Israel are Arab (1.2 million) and include Muslims, Christians, and Druze.^[19][20][21] Israel's capital is in Jerusalem^[22].

Israel is a small country, but it has mountains, deserts, shores, valleys and plains. The climate is hot and rainless in the summers with high humidity in the coastal plain and lower elevations, and cool and rainy in the winters, rarely going below freezing temperatures.

Israel has few natural resources and imports more goods than it exports. It has a relatively high standard of living and life expectancy. Almost all of its people can read and write.

According to the Democratic Index, Israel along with Cyprus are the only democratic republics in the Middle East. According to Freedom House, Israel along with Cyprus are the only full democracies in the Middle East.^[23] It has a long history of conflict with Palestine.

1. ↑ "Australia recognises West Jerusalem as Israeli capital". BBC News. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. ↑ "Foreign Ministry statement regarding Palestinian-Israeli settlement". www.mid.ru. 6 April 2017.
3. ↑ "Czech Republic announces it recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel's capital". Jerusalem Post. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017. The Czech Republic currently, before the peace between Israel and Palestine is signed, recognizes Jerusalem to be in fact the capital of Israel in the borders of the demarcation line from 1967." The Ministry also said that it would only consider relocating its embassy based on "results of negotiations.
4. ↑ "Honduras recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital". The Times of Israel. 29 August 2019.
5. ↑ "Guatemala se suma a EEUU y también trasladará su embajada en Israel a Jerusalén" [Guatemala joins US, will also move embassy to Jerusalem]. Infobae (in Spanish). 24 December 2017. Guatemala's embassy was located in Jerusalem until the 1980s, when it was moved to Tel Aviv.
6. ↑ "Nauru recognizes J'lem as capital of Israel". Israel National News. 29 August 2019.
7. ↑ "Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy to Move". The New York Times. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
8. ↑ Frot, Mathilde (4 September 2020). "Kosovo to normalise relations with Israel". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
9. ↑ "Kosovo and Serbia hand Israel diplomatic boon after US-brokered deal". The Guardian. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
10. ↑ "Arabic in Israel: an official language and a cultural bridge". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
11. ↑ "Israel Passes 'National Home' Law, Drawing Ire of Arabs". The New York Times. 19 July 2018.
12. ↑ Lubell, Maayan (19 July 2018). "Israel adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law". Reuters.
13. ↑ "Press Releases from the Knesset". Knesset website. 19 July 2018. The Arabic language has a special status in the state; Regulating the use of Arabic in state institutions or by them will be set in law.
14. ↑ "Home page". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
15. ↑ Population Census 2008 (PDF) (Report). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
17. ↑ "Income inequality". data.oecd.org. OECD. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
18. ↑ Nations, United (15 December 2020). Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
19. ↑ "הודעות לתקשורת". www1.cbs.gov.il (in Hebrew). 2014. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
20. ↑ An additional 4.7 million people live under Israel's occupation of Palestine (2.9 million in West Bank and 1.8 million in Gaza Strip), but are neither citizens of Israel, nor citizens of any country that Israel recognizes
21. ↑ Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
22. ↑ Israel, U. S. Mission (2020-12-07). "Statement by Former President Trump on Jerusalem". U.S. Embassy in Israel. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
23. ↑ "Freedom in the World 2022". Freedom House. 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.