This article is about the modern country. For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 31N 35E

State of Israel
(Hebrew) (Arabic)

Flag

Coat of Arms

Anthem: "Hatikvah" (Hebrew)

"The Hope"

Capital and largest city

Jerusalem (disputed)
3147N 3513E

Official languages

Hebrew Arabic 75.3% Jewish 20.7% Israeli Palestinians Israeli

Ethnic groups(2013)

Demonym

Government

Unitary parliamentaryrepublic

- President - Prime minister

Shimon Peres Benjamin Netanyahu

Legislature

Knesset

Independence from Mandatory Palestine - Declared - Recognition 14 May 1948 1 May 1949

Area - Total 20,770 / 22,072 (153rd) km2 8,019 / 8,522 sq mi - Water (%) 2.12 (440 km2 / 170 mi2)

Population - 2013 estimate - 2008 census - Density 8,051,200[1] (96th) 7,412,200[2] (99th) 387.63/km2 (34th) 1,004.00/sq mi

GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita

2014 estimate $288.244 billion[3] $35,833[3]

GDP (nominal) - Total - Per capita

2014 estimate $288.176 billion [3] $35,824[3]

Gini (2008)

39.2[4] medium 66th

HDI (2013)

0.900[5] very high 16th

Currency

Israeli new shekel () (ILS)

Time zone - Summer (DST)

Israel Standard Time(UTC+2) Israel Summer Time (UTC+3)

Date format

dd-mm-yyyy (CE)

Drives on the

right

Calling code

+972

ISO 3166 code

IL

Internet TLD

.il

Israel /zrel/, officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: , Mednat Yisr'el, IPA: [medinat jisael] (
listen);

Arabic:

, Dawlat Isrl, IPA: [dawlat israil]), is a country in Western Asia, on the south-

eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (orState of Palestine) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the east and southwest respectively, Egypt and the Gulf of Aqabain the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. [6][7] In its Basic LawsIsrael defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic State; it is the world's only Jewish-majority state.[8] On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the partition planof Mandatory Palestine. On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization[9] and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel," a state independent upon the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine, 15 May 1948.[10][11][12] Neighboring Arab armies invaded Palestine on the next day and fought the Israeli forces.[13] Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states,[14] in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (between 1967 and 1982), part of South Lebanon (between 1982 and 2000), Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. It annexed portions of these territories, includingEast Jerusalem, but the border with the West Bank is disputed.[15][16][17][18][19] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt andJordan, but efforts to resolve the IsraeliPalestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.

Israel's financial center is Tel Aviv,[20] while Jerusalem is the country's most populous city and its designated capital, thoughinternationally Jerusalem is not considered to be a part of Israel.[21][note 1][22] The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2013 to be 8,051,200 people, of whom 6,045,900 are Israeli Jews. The country's second largest group are ethnic Palestinians bearing Israeli citizenship, numbering 1,663,400 people, including the Druze and most East Jerusalem Pelestinians. [1][23] The Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank are considered as separate because they don't have the Israeli citizenship. The great majority of Israeli Palestinians are settled Muslims, with smaller but significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other minorities than Pelestinians include Maronites,Samaritans, Black Hebrew Israelites,[24] Armenians, Circassians and others. Israel also hosts a significant population of non-citizen foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia. Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage.[25][26] ThePrime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's unicameral legislative body. Israel is a developed country and an OECD member,[27] with the 43rd-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2012. Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia,[28] and among the highest life expectancies in the world