Names: conventional long form: State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el

Capital City: Jerusalem

Population: 6,352,117 note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita: $26,200 (2006 est.)

Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS

Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

Total Area: total: 20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km slightly smaller than New Jersey

Region: Asia

Industries: high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear

Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

Resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand

Labor Force: 2.6 million (2006 est.)
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 1.8%, manufacturing 1.8%, construction 5.3%, wholesale and retail trade 15.7%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, finance and business 5.3%, personal and other services 11.5%, public services 28.6% (1996)

Exports: $42.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel

Imports: $47.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods

Overview: Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain, but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy rebounded in 2003-05, growing at a 4% rate each year, as the government tightened fiscal policy and implemented structural reforms to boost competition and efficiency in the markets. The conflict with Lebanon in summer 2006 dampened slightly GDP growth estimates for the year, but continuing strong foreign investment, tax revenue, and private consumption levels helped the economy recover quickly.

_{CIA World Book}

In 2007 Missouri exported $80,001,072 in goods to Israel. This ranks Israel 14^th among the 223 international buyers of Missouri goods. Missouri exports to Israel increased from the previous year by $35,860,692 a change of 81.24%. State exports to Israel have increased over the last 5 years by $49,750,068 a change of 164.45%. Missouri exports account for .60%. of all 2007 US exports to Israel.