Israel - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Israel. note 1: Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source; the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Assal in Djibouti)
note 2: the Malham Cave in Mount Sodom is the world's longest salt cave at 10 km (6 mi); Mount Sodom is a hill about 220 m (722 ft) high that is 80% salt, with multiple salt layers covered by a veneer of rock. Mother's mean age at first birth is 27.7 years (2019 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 2 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Israel
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
| Map references | Middle East |
| Tarrain | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
| Natural Resources | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
| Natural Hazards | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| Irrigated Land | 1,927 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 1,068 km |
| Border Countries | Egypt 208 km; Gaza Strip 59 km; Jordan 327 km (20 km are within the Dead Sea); Lebanon 81 km; Syria 83 km; West Bank 330 km |
| Coastline | 273 km |
| Climate | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 21,497 sq km |
| Water Area | 440 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly larger than New Jersey |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Continental shelf | to depth of exploitation |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mitspe Shlagim 2,224 m; note - this is the highest named point, the actual highest point is an unnamed dome slightly to the west of Mitspe Shlagim at 2,236 m; both points are on the northeastern border of Israel, along the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range |
| Lowest point | Dead Sea -431 m |
| Mean elevation | 508 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 29.5% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 17.2% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 4.7% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 7.6% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 6.5% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 64% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated, with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba
People and Society
In Israel, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Jewish 73.5% (of which Israel-born 79.7%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 14.3%, Africa-born 3.9%, Asia-born 2.1%), Arab 21.1%, other 5.4% (2022 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 1.58% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 3.1 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.92 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.42 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 51.7% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | 1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Israeli | Israeli(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Jewish 73.5%, Muslim 18.1%, Christian 1.9%, Druze 1.6%, other 4.9% (2022 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 27.5% (male 1,320,629/female 1,260,977) |
| 15-64 years | 60.3% (male 2,885,485/female 2,781,777) |
| 65 years and over | 12.3% (2024 est.) (male 525,161/female 628,588) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 65.9 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 45.6 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 20.4 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 4.9 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 30.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 29.6 years |
| Female | 30.7 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 92.9% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 1.51% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 4.421 million Tel Aviv-Yafo, 1.174 million Haifa, 970,000 JERUSALEM (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.84 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 83.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 81.1 years |
| Female | 85.1 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 99% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 3.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 1.78 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 1.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 18.6% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 24.9% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 12.4% (2025 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Israel
Want to know more about Israel? Check all different factbooks for Israel below.
