Browse a full set of economic indicators

Israel

Includes Israel real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Israel economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Israel best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Parliamentary democracy

Capital City: Jerusalem; note – the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Jerusalem; note – the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty
Currency New Israeli shekels (ILS)

International Reserves
USD 115.3 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 369.8 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 337.2 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007 6%
2008 3.2%
2009 1.3%
2010 5.5%
2011 5.2%
2012 2.2%
2013 4.3%
2014 3.9%
2015 2.6%
2016 4%
2017* 3.5%
2018* 3.3%
GDP per capita – current prices USD 41,644.1 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 37,972.0 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980 0.21%
1990 0.22%
2000 0.26%
2010 0.25%
2019* 0.25%
*Estimate
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 19.3%
services: 69.4%
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) 4.5% (2017)

OECD, data retrieved October 2019
Inflation 2015 -0.6%
2016 -0.5%
2017 0.2%
2018* 0.8%
2019* 1%
*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015 -0.6%
2016 -0.5%
2017 0.2%
2018* 0.8%
2019* 1%
*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: AA-

Moody’s: A1

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s
Unemployment rate 2015 5.3%
2016 4.8%
2017* 4.2%
2018* 4%
2019* 4%
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2017 71.9%
2018 69.5%
2019 67.8%
2020* 77.6%
2021* 81.5%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015 63.9%
2016 62.1%
2017* 60.4%
2018* 60.8%
2019* 61.9%
*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares 2016 USD 214 billion
2017 USD 231.0 billion
2018 USD 187.5 billion
Largest Companies Teva Pharmaceutical, Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Check Point Software, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Migdal Insurance, FIBI Holdings, Delek Group

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 29.2% (2017)




Shares in world total merchandising export 0.004% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 0.008% (2018)

Total exports USD 1.6 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems, and medical herbs

Total imports USD 8.3 billion (2018 estimate)

Import commodities Machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Exports – major partners India 56.5%, Pakistan 29.6% (2017)

Imports – major partners China 21%, Iran 20.5%, Pakistan 11.8%, Kazakhstan 11%, Uzbekistan 6.8%, Malaysia 5.3%(2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD 10.1 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP 2.7% (2018 estimate)

FDI inflows 2016 USD 11,988 million
2017 USD 18,169 million
2018 USD 21,803 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD 14,579 million
2017 USD 6,153 million
2018 USD 6,008 million

Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser 2015 USD 3,685 million
2016 USD 41,737 million
2017 USD -1,774 million
2018 USD 892 million

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc, United States, USD 3.4 billion
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

35 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 28 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 35 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 83 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 75 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 48 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 18 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 13 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 67 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 85 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 29 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking
20 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 27 / Score: 72.8 (Mostly free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 20,770 sq km

Total Population 1990 4.66 million
2000 6.29 million
2010 7.62 million
2015* 8.38 million
2020* 9.23 million
*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960 76.8%
1980 88.6%
2000 91.2%
2015 92.4%
Population median age 30.1 years



CIA World Factbook / Population median age
Population growth rate 1.49% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 82.7 years (2018 estimate)



CIA World Factbook / Life expectancy
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 0.7% (last available estimate, 2016)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) distribution (Gini index)
38.9 (last available estimate, 2016)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Free
Political Rights: 2
Civil Liberties: 3 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 38.2% Mobile: 127.7% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 81.58 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language)
Literacy Total population: 38.2%
Male: 52%
Female: 24.2%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

(age 15 and over can read and write)
Religions Total population: 97.8%
Male: 98.7%
Female: 96.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2011 est.)

World Rankings

Population 2.8 M
Mercer Cost of living index N/A
C02 Emissions per capita 1.9 metric tons per capita (2018)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Israel

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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