Israel — map and facts

About Israel

Israel is a small but strategically significant country in the Middle East, situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of roughly 10 million people, it is a parliamentary democracy and defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Hebrew and Arabic are both official languages. Tel Aviv is the commercial and technological hub, while Jerusalem serves as the proclaimed capital, a status disputed internationally. Israel is one of the world's most advanced economies, globally recognised for its technology sector—often called "Start-Up Nation"—as well as cutting-edge agriculture, medical research, and defence industries. Jewish culture, including Shabbat, kosher dietary laws, and a rich tradition of scholarship, shapes daily life alongside a diverse mosaic of Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, and Russian Jewish communities, as well as Arab, Druze, and Bedouin citizens. Israel's existence and its relationship with the Palestinian territories remain among the most contested political issues in the contemporary world.

Geography and Landscape

Despite its small size—about 22,000 sq km—Israel contains a remarkable variety of landscapes. The Mediterranean coastal plain in the west is flat, fertile, and densely urbanised. Inland, the hills and mountains of the Galilee, Samaria, and Judea rise to over 1,200 metres. The Negev Desert covers more than half the country's total area in the south, ranging from rugged highlands to flat plains and eroded craters (makhteshim), including the world-famous Ramon Crater. The Jordan Rift Valley in the east features the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee (Israel's largest freshwater lake), and the Dead Sea—the lowest point on earth at about 430 metres below sea level—whose extreme salinity makes it unlike any other body of water. The climate is Mediterranean in the north and west, transitioning to arid conditions in the south. Israel faces significant water scarcity, addressed through world-leading desalination and recycling technology.

History

The land of Israel holds deep significance for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and has been continuously inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years. Ancient Israelite kingdoms—united under David and Solomon—flourished around 1000 BCE before being conquered successively by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. The Jewish diaspora intensified after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The land subsequently came under Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Mamluk, and Ottoman rule. Zionist immigration began in the late nineteenth century, and after the British Mandate period, Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, immediately triggering the Arab-Israeli War. Subsequent decades saw the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967 (which brought the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights under Israeli control), and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Peace treaties were signed with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994). The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to define the country's political landscape into the twenty-first century.