macrohistory & world report

The West Bank

West Bank (capital Jerusalem disputed with Israel). Urban areas are in gray.

World Factbook as of November 2014: "The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories - has sustained a moderate rate of economic growth since 2008. Inflows of donor aid and government spending have driven most of the gains, however. Private sector development has been weak. After a multiyear downturn following the start of the second intifada in 2000, overall standard-of-living measures have recovered and now exceed levels seen in the late 1990s. Despite the Palestinian Authority's (PA) successful implementation of economic and security reforms and the easing of some movement and access restrictions by the Israeli Government, Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce, eroding the productive capacity of the West Bank economy. The biggest impediments to economic improvements in the West Bank remain Palestinians' inability to access land and resources in Israeli-controlled areas, import and export restrictions, and a high-cost capital structure. The PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs, and West Bank economic activity will depend largely on the PA's ability to attract such aid."

Unemployment rate
2010: 16.5
2009: 19%
2008: 17.7%

Infant mortality (deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births)
2014: 13.34 deaths
2011: 14.92 deaths
2009: 15.96
2008: 18.21
2005: 19.62

Average life expectancy at birth
2014: 75.69 years
2011: 75.01 years
2009: 74.54 years
2008: 73.65
2005: 73.8

People

Population
July 2014: 2.731 million

Population growth rate:
2014: 1.99%, 52nd of 233 countries

Births / deaths
2014: 23.41 / 3.51

Net migration rate
2014: zero.

Geography

West of the Jordan River. Landlocked. Equivalent to 76.5 by 76.5 kilometers or roughly 48 by 48 miles.

Government

Occupied by Israel following the 1967 war.

Recent History

2004: Yasser Arafat dies. Mahmud Abbas elected by popular vote as the successor to the late Yasir Arafat as leader of the Palestinian authority.

SOURCES:
The World Factbook