Official Name: State of Israel

Established: 1948

Political system: Parliamentary republic with executive, legislative and judicial branches; parliament is called the Knesset; head of state is a president elected by a majority of the Knesset; head of government is a prime minister elected directly by voters

Map of Israel

President: Ezer Weizman Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

Flag: Blue and white, featuring the Shield of David -- a six-sided star -- and based on the design of the Jewish prayer shawl

National Anthem: "Ha'Tikvah" (The Hope)
     • Lyrics
     • Ha'Tikva in Real Audio from Israel Foreign Ministry

Currency: shekel

Official language: Hebrew; English widely spoken

Area: 10,840 square miles (27,800 square kilometers), including areas under Palestinian self-rule. (Somewhat larger than the U.S. state of Maryland). Long and narrow in shape, Israel is 290 miles (470 kilometers) long at its longest point and 85 miles (135 kilometers) wide at the widest point.

Capital: Jerusalem, population 600,000. (Jerusalem is the seat of Israeli government and its self-declared capital, although Jerusalem's status is disputed by several countries that do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.)

Other major cities: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel's commercial and financial center; Haifa, a major port and export center

Source: Reader's Digest Guide to Places of the World

Major industries: Agriculture, mining, food processing, textiles, leather goods, transport equipment, aircraft, chemicals, metal products, machinery, diamond cutting.

Source: Israel Foreign Ministry

Major products: Livestock, citrus fruits, grapes, wheat, sugar beets, olives, figs, vegetables, potash, oil, phosphates, bromine, natural gas.

Source: Israel Foreign Ministry

Major exports: Finished diamonds, textiles, fruit, vegetables, chemicals, machinery, fertilizers, electronics, military hardware, metals.