Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Religions
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$102,300,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
7.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
1
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Area
9,826,675 km sq
20,770 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
273 km
Climate
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
