Israel/

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government’s external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel’s GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, grew about 5% per year from 2004-07. The global financial crisis of 2008-09 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with solid fundamentals - following years of prudent fiscal policy and a series of liberalizing reforms - and a resilient banking sector, and the economy has shown signs of an early recovery. Following GDP growth of 4% in 2008, Israel’s GDP slipped to 0.2% in 2009, but reached 3.4% in 2010, as exports rebounded. The global economic downturn affected Israel’s economy primarily through reduced demand for Israel’s exports in the United States and EU, Israel’s top trading partners. Exports account for about 25% of the country’s GDP. The Israeli Government responded to the recession by implementing a modest fiscal stimulus package and an aggressive expansionary monetary policy - including cutting interest rates to record lows, purchasing government bonds, and intervening in the foreign currency market. The Bank of Israel began raising interest rates in the summer of 2009 when inflation rose above the upper end of the Bank’s target and the economy began to show signs of recovery.

$217.1 billion (2010 est.)

$210 billion (2009 est.)

$209.6 billion (2008 est.)

$201.3 billion (2010 est.)

3.4% (2010 est.)

0.2% (2009 est.)

4.4% (2008 est.)

$29,500 (2010 est.)

$29,000 (2009 est.)

$29,500 (2008 est.)

3.08 million (2010 est.)

6.4% (2010 est.)

7.6% (2009 est.)

23.6%

39.2 (2008)

35.5 (2001)

16.7% of GDP (2010 est.)

77.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

77.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

2.6% (2010 est.)

3.3% (2009 est.)

1% (31 December 2009)

2.5% (31 December 2008)

3.73% (31 December 2009 est.)

6.06% (31 December 2008 est.)

$27.58 billion (31 December 2010 est)

$25.16 billion (31 December 2009 est)

$208.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$195.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$169.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$148.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$182.1 billion (31 December 2009)

$134.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$236.4 billion (31 December 2007)

citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

high-technology products (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear

5.7% (2010 est.)

54.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)

46.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)

2.081 billion kWh (2007)

0 kWh (2008)

3,806 bbl/day (2009 est.)

231,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

69,580 bbl/day (2007 est.)

318,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1.94 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)

1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$6.269 billion (2010 est.)

$7.637 billion (2009 est.)

$54.31 billion (2010 est.)

$45.9 billion (2009 est.)

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

US 35.05%, Hong Kong 6.02%, Belgium 4.95% (2009)

$55.6 billion (2010 est.)

$45.99 billion (2009 est.)

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

US 12.35%, China 7.43%, Germany 7.1%, Switzerland 6.94%, Belgium 5.42%, Italy 4.49%, UK 4.03%, Netherlands 3.98% (2009)

$66.98 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$60.61 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$89.68 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$86.78 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$64.82 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$58.82 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$58.42 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$55.02 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.7461 (2010), 3.9326 (2009), 3.588 (2008), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006)