West Bank Economy 2001

Economy - overview: Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -7.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.)

Labor force: NA

Labor force - by occupation: services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000)

Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%

Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

Electricity - imports: NA kWh

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

Exports: $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports - commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

Imports: $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

Debt - external: $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000)

Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code: ILS; JOD

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

NOTE: The information regarding West Bank on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.