Source
Central bank

Bank of Israel

International Reserves

USD 115.3 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 369.8 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 337.2 billion (2018, estimate)

Real GDP growth
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
6% 3.2% 1.3% 5.5% 5.2% 2.2% 4.3%
2014 2015 2016 2017* 2018*    
3.9% 2.6% 4% 3.5% 3.3%    

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 41,644.1 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 37,972.0 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2019*
0.21% 0.22% 0.26% 0.25% 0.25%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 1.2% 
  • industry: 19.3% 
  • services: 69.4%

(2017 estimate)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)

4.5% (2017)

OECD, data retrieved October 2019

 

Inflation
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
-0.6% -0.5% 0.2% 0.8% 1%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
5.3% 4.8% 4.2% 4% 4%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

N/A

 

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017* 2018* 2019*
63.9% 62.1% 60.4% 60.8% 61.9%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017* 2018* 2019*
-1% -1.4% -1% -3.3% -3.7%

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: AA-

Moody's: A1

Standard & Poor's / Moody's 

Market value of publicly traded shares
2016 2017 2018
USD 214 billion USD 231.0 billion USD 187.5 billion
Largest companies

Teva Pharmaceutical, Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Check Point Software, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Migdal Insurance, FIBI Holdings, Delek Group

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD 10.1 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

2.7% (2018 estimate)

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)

29.2% (2017)

Shares in world total merchandising export

0.29% (2018)

 

Shares in world total commercial services export

0.87% (2018)

Total exports

USD 109.4 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities

Machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel

Total imports

USD 108.1 billion (2018 estimate)

 
 
Source
Import commodities

Raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods

Exports - major partners

US 28.8%, UK 8.2%, Hong Kong 7%, China 5.4%, Belgium 4.5% (2017)

Imports - major partners

US 11.7%, China 9.5%, Switzerland 8%, Germany 6.8%, UK 6.2%, Belgium 5.9%, Netherlands 4.2%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4% (2017)

FDI inflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 11,988 million USD 18,169 million USD 21,803 million
FDI outflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 14,579 million USD 6,153 million USD 6,008 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2015 2016 2017 2018
USD 3,685 million USD 41,737 million USD -1,774 million USD 892 million
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

N/A

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc, United States, USD 3.4 billion

Best countries for doing business

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

35 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 28 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 35 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 83 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 75 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 48 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 18 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 13 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 67 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 85 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 29 out of 190 countries

Global competitiveness ranking

20 out of 141 countries

(2019)

Index of Economic Freedom

Ranking: 27 / Score: 72.8 (Mostly free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+2

Total area

20,770 sq km

Capital

Jerusalem; note - the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty

Currency

New Israeli shekels (ILS)

Government type

Parliamentary democracy

Languages

Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language)

Religions

Jewish 74.7%, Muslim 17.7%, Christian 2%, Druze 1.6%, other 4% (2016 est.)

Total population
1990 2000 2010 2015* 2020*
4.66 million 6.29 million 7.62 million 8.38 million 9.23 million

*Estimate 

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2015
76.8% 88.6% 91.2% 92.4%
Population median age

30.1 years

Population growth rate

1.49% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

82.7 years (2018 estimate)

Literacy

Total population: 97.8% 
Male: 98.7% 
Female: 96.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2011 est.)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

0.7% (last available estimate, 2016)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

38.9 (last available estimate, 2016)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Free
Political Rights: 2
Civil Liberties: 3 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed: 38.2% Mobile: 127.7% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

81.58 % (2017)

Mercer Cost of living index

Tel Aviv: 15th (2019)

CO2 emissions

7.86 metric tons per capita (2014)

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