Israel at a Glance

LEISURE

Preferred holiday destinations

* Inside Israel: Eilat, Tiberias

* Abroad: Turkey, United States

Cultural visits, 1996

* Theater: 2.5 million

* Concerts and opera: 1.2 million

* Dance: 370,000

WORK: THE LABOR FORCE

Domestic personnel in private households: 1.9%

Community, social and personal services: 4.2%

Health, welfare and social work services: 9.6%

Education: 13.6%

Public administration: 6.4%

Business activities: 8.9%

Banking, insurance and finance: 3.7%

Transportation, storage and communication: 5.7%

Accommodation services and restaurants: 3.6%

Construction: 7.2%

Trade and repair of motor vehicles: 11.4%

Manufacturing: 21.3%

Electricity and water supply: 1.1%

Agriculture: 1.4%

MILITARY

Military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product:

(please see newspaper for bar chart information)

* A breakdown of Israel’s military:

*--*

Air All Army Force Navy forces Regular 136 32.5 9 177.5 Reserve 363 54 10 427 Total 499 86.5 19 604.5

*--*

TRADE / INDUSTRY

* Israeli imports rose from $302 million in 1950 to $29.9 billion in 1996.

* Israeli exports rose from $35.1 million in 1950 to $20.5 billion in 1996.

* Gross domestic product in 1996 was $95 billion. GDP per capita was $17,000.

BIRTHPLACE

- 1948

35.4% Born in what became Israel

64.6% Born abroad

- 1996

61.6% Born in Israel

38.4% Born abroad

VITAL STATISTICS

The average Jewish male marries at age 28 and lives until 76

The average Jewish woman marries at age 25 and lives until 80.

PEOPLE

* 1996 Demographics

About half of Israel’s Jews are Ashkenazi, or of Eastern European descent, and half are Sephardic, or middle Eastern.

Jews: 80.5%

Muslims: 14.6%

Christians: 3.2%

Druze: 1.7%

Population since nation’s founding

1948: 872,700

1965: 2,598,400

1980: 3,921,700

1996: 5,759,400

*

Sources: The Israeli Yearbook & Almanac; the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, 1996; Israel’s Tourism Ministry; Associated Press; Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies