ain: flat to rolling, sand and dune covered coastal plain

_#_Natural resources: negligible

_#_Land use: arable land 13%, permanent crops 32%, meadows and
pastures 0%, forest and woodland 0%, other 55%

_#_Environment: desertification

_#_Note: there are 18 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip

_*_People
_#_Population: 642,253 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991);
in addition, there are 2,500 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip (1990
est.)

_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 41 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 67 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: NA

_#_Ethnic divisions: Palestinian Arab and other 99.8%, Jewish 0.2%

_#_Religion: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99%, Christian 0.7%,
Jewish 0.3%

_#_Language: Arabic, Israeli settlers speak Hebrew, English widely
understood

_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

_#_Labor force: (excluding Israeli Jewish settlers) small
industry, commerce and business 32.0%, construction 24.4%, service
and other 25.5%, and agriculture 18.1% (1984)

_#_Organized labor: NA

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none

_#_Note: The Gaza Strip is currently governed by Israeli military
authorities and Israeli civil administration. It is US policy that the
final status of the Gaza Strip will be determined by negotiations among
the concerned parties. These negotiations will determine how this area is
to be governed.

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Nearly half the labor force of the Gaza Strip is
employed across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and
agricultural enterprises, with worker transfer funds accounting for 46%
of GNP in 1990. The once dominant agricultural sector now contributes
only 13% to GNP, about the same as that of the construction sector, and
industry accounts for 7%. Gaza depends upon Israel for 90% of its
imports and as a market for 80% of its exports. Unrest in the territory
in 1988-91 (intifadah) has raised unemployment and substantially
lowered the incomes of the population. Furthermore, the Persian Gulf
crisis dealt a severe blow to the Gaza Strip in 1990 and on into 1991.
Worker remittances from the Gulf states have plunged, unemployment has
increased, a