immigrants bring to the
economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $70.1 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 6.8% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $13,880 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.5% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $42.3 billion
expenditures: $45.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.1
billion (FY92/93)

Exports: $16.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals,
textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals
partners: US, EU, Japan

Imports: $22.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds,
oil, other productive inputs, consumer goods
partners: EU, US, Japan

External debt: $25.9 billion (November 1994 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1994 est.); accounts for about
30% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 4,140,000 kW
production: 23 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,290 kWh (1993)

Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles
and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport
equipment, electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash
mining, high-technology electronics, tourism

Agriculture: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef,
poultry, dairy products

Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse
and trafficking

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $2.8 billion

Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.070 (December
1994), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591 (1992), 2.2791 (1991),
2.0162 (1990), 1.9164 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

@Israel:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 520 km (diesel operated; single track)
standard gauge: 520 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
total: 13,461 km
paved: 13,461 km

Pipelines: crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89
km

Ports: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat, Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Merchant marine:
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 624,861 GRT/720,765 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, container 22, refrige