2015 Edition

Background

Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo accords signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly-created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled in 2001, after which the area witnessed a violent intifada or uprising.

In early 2003, the "Quartet" of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states. Following PA President Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political faction) as the PA president in 2005, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to move the peace process forward. Israel by late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but continues to control the Gaza Strip’s land and maritime borders and airspace. In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Attempts to form a unity government between Fatah and HAMAS failed and violent clashes between their respective supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS's violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Israel and Egypt since HAMAS’s takeover have enforced tight restrictions on movement and access of goods and individuals into and out of the territory. Since then, Fatah and HAMAS have reached a series of agreements aimed at restoring political unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but have struggled to implement them. In April 2014, the two factions signed an agreement and two months later President ABBAS formed an interim government of independent technocrats, none of whom were affiliated with HAMAS. The factions, however, continue to disagree over how to implement the deal and HAMAS remains in de facto control of the Gaza Strip.

In July 2014, HAMAS and other Gaza-based militant groups engaged in a 51-day conflict with Israel—the third conflict since HAMAS’s takeover in 2007—culminating in late August with an open-ended truce that continues to hold despite the absence of a negotiated cease-fire and occasional violations by both sides. Reconstruction efforts since the end of the conflict have been hampered by Israeli restrictions on goods entering the Gaza Strip and inadequate donor aid. The UN in 2015 published a study assessing that the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable by 2020 absent a substantial easing on border restrictions.

Area

land

360 sq km

total

360 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Climate

temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Coastline

40 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m

lowest point

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

Environment - current issues

desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources

Geographic coordinates

31 25 N, 34 20 E

Geography - note

strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history; there are no Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip; the Gaza Strip settlements were evacuated in 2005 (2014)

Irrigated land

240 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Land boundaries

border countries (2)

Egypt 13 km, Israel 59 km

total

72 km

Location

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

see entry for Israel

note

effective 3 January 2009, the Gaza maritime area is closed to all maritime traffic and is under blockade imposed by Israeli Navy until further notice

Natural hazards

droughts

Natural resources

arable land, natural gas

Terrain

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Age structure

0-14 years

42.75% (male 410,599/female 388,473)

15-24 years

20.34% (male 194,798/female 185,295)

25-54 years

30.66% (male 293,556/female 279,471)

55-64 years

3.59% (male 33,843/female 33,198)

65 years and over

2.67% (male 20,667/female 29,155) (2015 est.)

Birth rate

31.11 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

52.5% (includes Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2010)

Death rate

3.04 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios

elderly dependency ratio

5.2%

note

data represents Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)

potential support ratio

19.2%

total dependency ratio

76%

youth dependency ratio

70.8%

Drinking water source

urban: 50.7% of population

rural: 81.5% of population

total: 58.4% of population

urban: 49.3% of population

rural: 18.5% of population

total: 41.6% of population

note

includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Hospital bed density

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2010)

Infant mortality rate

female

13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)

male

15.97 deaths/1,000 live births

total

14.94 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Life expectancy at birth

female

76.74 years (2015 est.)

male

73.11 years

total population

74.87 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

94.5%

male

98.4%

note

estimates are for Gaza and West Bank (2015 est.)

total population

96.5%

Maternal mortality rate

45 deaths/100,000 live births

note

data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank (2015 est.)

Median age

female

18.6 years (2015 est.)

male

18.2 years

total

18.4 years

Nationality

adjective

NA

noun

NA

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Physicians density

2.1 physicians/1,000 population (2013)

Population

1,869,055 (July 2015 est.)

Population growth rate

2.81% (2015 est.)

Religions

Muslim 98.0 - 99.0% (predominantly Sunni), Christian

note

dismantlement of Israeli settlements was completed in September 2005; Gaza has had no Jewish population since then (2012 est.)

Sanitation facility access

urban: 93% of population

rural: 90.2% of population

total: 92.3% of population

urban: 7% of population

rural: 9.8% of population

total: 7.7% of population

note

includes Gaza and the West Bank (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

female

14 years

male

12 years

note

data represents Gaza and West Bank (2013)

total

13 years

Sex ratio

0-14 years

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.71 male(s)/female

at birth

1.06 male(s)/female

total population

1.04 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.08 children born/woman (2015 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

female

64.7%

male

37%

note

includes West Bank (2013 est.)

total

41%

Urbanization

note

data represents Gaza Strip and West Bank

rate of urbanization

2.81% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

urban population

75.3% of total population (2015)

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Gaza Strip

etymology

named after the largest city in the region, Gaza, whose settlement can be traced back to at least the 15th century B.C. (as "Ghazzat")

local long form

none

local short form

Qita' Ghazzah

Agriculture - products

olives, fruit, vegetables, flowers; beef, dairy products

Budget

see entry for West Bank

Commercial bank prime lending rate

see entry for West Bank

Current account balance

(2014 est.)

Debt - external

see entry for West Bank

Economy - overview

Israeli security controls imposed since the end of the second intifada have degraded economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli-imposed border closures, which became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007, have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector that had relied primarily on export markets. Egyptian authorities began a crackdown on Gaza’s extensive tunnel-based smuggling network in 2013, creating fuel, construction material, and consumer goods shortages in the territory. Israel’s military operation in Gaza from July to August 2014 - the latest in a series of periodic conflicts between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian militants -destroyed one-fifth of the territory’s industrial infrastructure, displaced more than 100,000 people, and left 30% of households without access to potable water. Since the conflict, Israel has allowed limited Gaza exports and relaxed some restrictions on construction material imports to assist reconstruction efforts, but the Palestinian Authority will depend on donor and humanitarian aid to finance the $4billion needed to rebuild.

Exchange rates

see entry for West Bank

Exports

(2013 est.)

Exports - commodities

strawberries, carnations, vegetables, fish (small and irregular shipments, as permitted to transit the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP - composition, by end use

data exclude West Bank (2014 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

5.7%

16.9%

77.4%

note

data exclude West Bank (2014 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

see entry for West Bank

GDP - real growth rate

-15% (2014 est.)

6% (2013 est.)

7% (2012 est.)

note

data exclude West Bank

GDP (purchasing power parity)

see entry for West Bank

Imports

see entry for West Bank

Imports - commodities

food, consumer goods, fuel

Industrial production growth rate

see entry for West Bank

Industries

textiles, food processing, furniture

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

see entry for West Bank

Labor force

1.255 million (2014 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture

8.4%

industry

12.3%

note

data exclude West Bank (2013 est.)

services

79.3%

Population below poverty line

39%

note

data exclude West Bank (2011 est.)

Stock of broad money

$2.356 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$2.16 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$1.147 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.168 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Stock of narrow money

see entry for West Bank

Unemployment rate

45.1% (2014 est.)

29.5% (2013 est.)

note

data exclude West Bank

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

Electricity - consumption

202,000 kWh (2009)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2011 est.)

Electricity - imports

193,000 kWh (2011 est.)

Electricity - production

51,000 kWh (2011 est.)

Broadcast media

1 TV station and about 10 radio stations; satellite TV accessible (2008)

Internet country code

.ps; note - same as West Bank

Internet users

percent of population

34.4% (includes West Bank) (2009)

total

1,379,000 (includes West Bank)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 0 (2008)

Telephone system

domestic

Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services; the Palestinian JAWWAL company provides cellular services

general assessment

Gaza continues to repair the damage to its telecommunications infrastructure caused by fighting in 2009

international

country code - 970 (2009)

Telephones - fixed lines

403,118 (includes West Bank) (2014 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

117 (includes West Bank) (2014 est.)

total

3,197,550 (includes West Bank)

Television broadcast stations

1 (2008)

Airports

1 (2013)

Airports - with paved runways

over 3,047 m

1 (2013)

total

1

Heliports

1 (2013)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s)

Gaza

Roadways

note

see entry for West Bank

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49

385,961 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

females age 16-49

319,847 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49

335,820

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

female

17,903 (2010 est.)

male

18,805

Military branches

HAMAS does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the Hamas Political Bureau leadership, which remains scattered throughout the region since relocating from its Damascus headquarters in early 2012 (2015)

Disputes - international

the status of the Gaza Strip is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in August 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs

at least 263,500 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2015)

refugees (country of origin)

1,258,559 (Palestinian refugees) (2014)