{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
The Gaza Strip has been under the de facto governing authority of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) since 2007, and has faced years of conflict, poverty, and humanitarian crises. Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., the Gaza Strip area has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. The Gaza Strip fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; Israel captured it in the Six-Day War in 1967. Under a series of agreements known as the Oslo Accords signed between 1993 and 1999, Israel transferred to the newly-created Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank.
In 2000, a violent intifada or uprising began, and in 2001 negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip stalled. Subsequent attempts to re-start negotiations have not resulted in progress toward determining final status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but it continues to control the Gaza Strip’s land and maritime borders and airspace. In early 2006, HAMAS won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Fatah, the dominant Palestinian political faction in the West Bank, and HAMAS failed to maintain a unity government, leading to violent clashes between their respective supporters and HAMAS’s violent seizure of all PA military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Since HAMAS’s takeover, Israel and Egypt have enforced tight restrictions on movement and access of goods and individuals into and out of the territory. Fatah and HAMAS have since reached a series of agreements aimed at restoring political unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but have struggled to enact them.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israel Defense Forces periodically exchange projectiles and air strikes, respectively, threatening broader conflict. In May 2021, HAMAS launched rockets at Israel, sparking an 11-day conflict that also involved other Gaza-based militant groups. Egypt, Qatar, and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process have negotiated ceasefires to avert a broader conflict. Since 2018, HAMAS has also coordinated demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel security fence. Many of these protests have turned violent, resulting in several Israeli soldiers’ deaths and injuries as well as more than 200 Palestinian deaths and thousands of injuries, most of which occurred during weekly March of Return protests from 2018 to the end of 2019.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "31 25 N, 34 20 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Middle East" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "360 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "360 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "0 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "72 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Egypt 13 km; Israel 59 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "40 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "text": "see entry for Israelnote: effective 3 January 2009, the Gaza maritime area is closed to all maritime traffic and is under blockade imposed by Israeli Navy until further notice
" }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers" }, "Terrain": { "text": "flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Awdah) 105 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Mediterranean Sea 0 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "arable land, natural gas" }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "(2013) 151 sq km; note - includes the West Bank" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "population concentrated in major cities, particularly Gaza City in the north" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "droughts" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "once a strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes that has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history; Israel evacuated its civilian settlements and soldiers from the Gaza Strip in 2005" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "2,037,744 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "NA" }, "adjective": { "text": "NA" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "Palestinian Arab" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Asia; the Gaza Strip is currently considered a high risk to travelers for polio; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
" }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "2.1% (2019/20)", "note": "note: estimate is for Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "62.4% (2023 est.)", "note": "note: data includes Gaza and the West Bank" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 15": { "text": "0.7%" }, "women married by age 18": { "text": "13.4% (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "5.3% of GDP (2018 est.)", "note": "note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "97.5%" }, "male": { "text": "98.8%" }, "female": { "text": "96.2% (2020)" }, "note": "note: estimates are for Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "13 years" }, "male": { "text": "12 years" }, "female": { "text": "14 years (2021)" }, "note": "note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "39.6%" }, "male": { "text": "33.7%" }, "female": { "text": "69% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "soil degradation; desertification; water pollution from chemicals and pesticides; salination of fresh water; improper sewage treatment; water-borne disease; depletion and contamination of underground water resources" }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "77.6% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "2.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" }, "note": "note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank" }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "3.23 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "note": "note: data represent combined total from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "1.387 million tons (2016 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "6,935 tons (2013 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "0.5% (2013 est.)" }, "note": "note: data represent combined total from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "181.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "32 million cubic meters (2017 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "162 million cubic meters (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data represent combined total from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "840 million cubic meters (2020 est.)", "note": "note: data represent combined total from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "none" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Gaza Strip" }, "local long form": { "text": "none" }, "local short form": { "text": "Qita' Ghazzah" }, "etymology": { "text": "named for the largest city in the enclave, Gaza, whose settlement can be traced back to at least the 15th century B.C. (as \"Ghazzat\")" } } }, "Economy": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021": { "text": "$27.779 billion (2021 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2020": { "text": "$25.95 billion (2020 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$29.262 billion (2019 est.)" }, "note": "see entry for the West Bank" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2021": { "text": "7.05% (2021 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2020": { "text": "-11.32% (2020 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2019": { "text": "1.36% (2019 est.)" }, "note": "note: excludes the West Bank" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2021": { "text": "$5,600 (2021 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2020": { "text": "$5,400 (2020 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$6,200 (2019 est.)" }, "note": "see entry for the the West Bank" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$2.938 billion (2014 est.)", "note": "note: excludes the West Bank" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021": { "text": "1.24% (2021 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2020": { "text": "-0.74% (2020 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019": { "text": "1.58% (2019 est.)" }, "note": "note: excludes the West Bank" }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "3% (2017 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "21.1% (2017 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "75% (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data exclude the West Bank" }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "88.6% (2017 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "26.3% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "22.4% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "0% (2017 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "18.6% (2017 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-55.6% (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data exclude the West Bank" }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, poultry, milk, potatoes, sheep milk, eggplants, gourds" }, "Industries": { "text": "textiles, food processing, furniture" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "6.22% (2021 est.)", "note": "note: see entry for the West Bank" }, "Labor force": { "text": "1.249 million (2021 est.)", "note": "note: excludes the West Bank" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "5.2%" }, "industry": { "text": "10%" }, "services": { "text": "84.8% (2015 est.)" }, "note": "note: data exclude the West Bank" }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2021": { "text": "24.9% (2021 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2020": { "text": "25.89% (2020 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2019": { "text": "25.34% (2019 est.)" }, "note": "note: data exclude the West Bank" }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "39.6%" }, "male": { "text": "33.7%" }, "female": { "text": "69% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "30% (2011 est.)", "note": "note: data exclude the West Bank" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2016": { "text": "33.7 (2016 est.)" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "$3.803 billion (2020 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "$5.002 billion (2020 est.)" }, "note": "see entry for the West Bank" }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "18.78% (of GDP) (2018 est.)" }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "calendar year" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2021": { "text": "-$1.486 billion (2021 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2020": { "text": "-$1.903 billion (2020 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2019": { "text": "-$1.779 billion (2019 est.)" }, "note": "note: excludes the West Bank" }, "Exports": { "Exports 2021": { "text": "$3.18 billion (2021 est.)" }, "Exports 2020": { "text": "$2.385 billion (2020 est.)" }, "Exports 2019": { "text": "$2.659 billion (2019 est.)" } }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "building stone, scrap iron, plastic lids, furniture, seating, dates, olive oil (2021)", "note": "note: data includes both Gaza Strip and West Bank export commodities" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2021": { "text": "$10.245 billion (2021 est.)" }, "Imports 2020": { "text": "$8.065 billion (2020 est.)" }, "Imports 2019": { "text": "$9.161 billion (2019 est.)" }, "note": "see entry for the West Bank" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "food, consumer goods, fuel" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2021": { "text": "$872.541 million (31 December 2021 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2020": { "text": "$697.075 million (31 December 2020 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2019": { "text": "$658.352 million (31 December 2019 est.)" } }, "Debt - external": { "text": "see entry for the West Bank
" }, "Exchange rates": { "text": "see entry for the West Bank
" } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "100% (2021)" }, "note": "note: data for Gaza Strip and West Bank combined" }, "Electricity": { "installed generating capacity": { "text": "215,000 kW (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "consumption": { "text": "5,702,816,000 kWh (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "exports": { "text": "0 kWh (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "imports": { "text": "5.9 billion kWh (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "transmission/distribution losses": { "text": "847 million kWh (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" } }, "Electricity generation sources": { "fossil fuels": { "text": "100% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "nuclear": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "solar": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "wind": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "hydroelectricity": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "tide and wave": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "geothermal": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "biomass and waste": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" } }, "Petroleum": { "total petroleum production": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2021 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "refined petroleum consumption": { "text": "24,600 bbl/day (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "crude oil and lease condensate exports": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2018 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "crude oil and lease condensate imports": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2018 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "crude oil estimated reserves": { "text": "0 barrels (2021 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" } }, "Natural gas": { "production": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "3.341 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) Data includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "3.341 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) Data includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) Data includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" } }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2019": { "text": "13.604 million Btu/person (2019 est.) Data represented includes both the Gaza Strip and West Bank" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "485,829 (2021 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "9 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "includes the West Bank" }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "4,052,966 (2021 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "78 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "includes the West Bank" }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "Israel, which controls Palestinian frequencies and telecom infrastructure, limits mobile internet speeds in the Palestinian territories to levels that are significantly lower than in Israel and Jewish West Bank settlements; the World Bank urged Israel to let Palestinian cellular companies set up more advanced networks, and to ease restrictions on the import of equipment needed to build and operate them; Israel is rolling out fifth generation technology for its citizens, while the West Bank operates on 3G and Gaza, 2G; Israeli mobile operators don’t officially service Palestinian areas, but many Palestinians use the faster Israeli networks with SIM cards; the Times of Israel reported in November that Israel tentatively agreed to let Palestinian operators launch 4G services
(2022)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line 9 per 100 and mobile-cellular 28 per 100 (includes West Bank) (2021)" }, "international": { "text": "country code 970 or 972 (2018)" } }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "1 TV station and about 10 radio stations; satellite TV accessible" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".ps; note - IANA has designated .ps for the Gaza Strip, same as the West Bank" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "3,602,452 (2020 est.)" }, "percent of population": { "text": "75% (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "376,911 (2020 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "7 (2020 est.)" }, "note": "note: includes the West Bank" } }, "Transportation": { "Airports": { "text": "1 (2021)" }, "Airports - with paved runways": { "text": "1", "note": "note: non-operational" }, "Heliports": { "text": "1 (2021)" }, "Roadways": { "text": "note: see entry for the West Bank
" }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Gaza" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "HAMAS does not have a conventional military in the Gaza Strip but maintains security forces in addition to its military wing, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; the military wing reports to the HAMAS Political Bureau; there are several other militant groups operating in the Gaza Strip, most notably the Al-Quds Brigades of Palestine Islamic Jihad, which are usually but not always beholden to HAMAS's authority (2023)" }, "Military expenditures": { "text": "not available" }, "Military and security service personnel strengths": { "text": "the military wing of HAMAS has an estimated 20-25,000 fighters (2022)" }, "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": { "text": "the military wing of HAMAS is armed with light weapons, including an inventory of improvised rocket, anti-tank missile, and mortar capabilities; HAMAS acquires its weapons through smuggling or local construction and receives some military support from Iran (2023)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, HAMAS has claimed responsibility for numerous rocket attacks into Israel and organized protests at the border between Gaza and Israel, resulting in violent clashes, casualties, and reprisal military actions by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF); HAMAS and Israel fought an 11-day conflict in May of 2021, which ended in an informal truce; sporadic clashes continued into 2023, including rocket attacks from Gaza and retaliatory IDF strikes; Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has conducted numerous attacks on Israel since the 1980s, including a barrage of mortar and rocket strikes in 2020, also prompting IDF counter-strikes; see Appendix T for more details on HAMAS and PIJaccording to the Oslo Accords, the status of the Gaza Strip is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in September 2005
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "1.6 million (Palestinian refugees) (2022)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "131,000 (includes persons displaced within the Gaza Strip due to the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since June 2014 and other Palestinian IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank who fled as long ago as 1967, although confirmed cumulative data do not go back beyond 2006) (2020); note - data represent Gaza Strip and West Bank" } } } }