Official Name: Medinat Yisra`el (Hebrew); Dawlat Isra`il (Arabic); State of Israel (English)

Area: Middle East

Size: 22,145 km²

Coastline: 273 km

Independence: From the UK 14 May 1948

Form of Govt.: Multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: President

Capital: Tel Aviv

Largest City: Jerusalem

Demographics (2005): 7,150,000.   324 /km²

Jewish 76%, Arab 19.6%, Other 4.3%

GDP per Capita (2005): $ 26,200

Languages: Hebrew, Arabic

Geography: The country is divided into three topographical regions. (1.) The coastal plain which is a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea and contains 66% of the population. (2.) The mountains which consist of soft stone or dolomite ranges in the north, such as Mt. Hermon, Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee and Mt. Carmel as well as the lofty granite peaks of Samaria and Judea in the south. (3.) The valleys which include the Hula, Capernaum, Jordan and Jezreel. (4.) The deserts which account for up to 66% of the land area and include the Negev and Judean. The only permanent rivers are the Jordan, Yarkon, Na'aman, Kishon, Taninim, Alexander and the Ga'aton.

Climate: Israel has a Mediterranean climate characterized by long hot dry summers and short warm wet winters. Around 17% of the annual precipitation occurs between November and February in violent storms, while further inland rainfall is heavier than the average annual precipitation of 550 mm and snow may occasionally fall. Average temperature ranges in Jerusalem are from 5 to 13 degrees in January to 18 to 31 degrees in August.