negotiations, which resumed in
September 1999 after a three-year hiatus.

@Gaza Strip:Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt
and Israel

Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington,
DC

Land boundaries:
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation

Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources: arable land

Land use:
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 39%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 11%
other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh
water; sewage treatment

Geography - note: there are 24 Israeli settlements and civilian land
use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1999 est.)

@Gaza Strip:People

Population: 1,132,063
note: in addition, there are some 6,500 Israeli settlers in the Gaza
Strip (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 50% (male 289,954; female 275,628)
15-64 years: 47% (male 271,365; female 263,197)
65 years and over: 3% (male 13,792; female 18,127) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.97% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 43.14 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.82 years
male: 69.58 years
female: 72.11 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: NA
adjective: NA

Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%