| Economy - overview | In 2017, the economic outlook in the West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Territories – remained fragile, as security concerns and political friction slowed economic growth. Unemployment in the West Bank remained high at 19.0% in the third quarter of 2017, only slightly better than 19.6% at the same point the previous year, while the labor force participation rate remained flat, year-on-year. Longstanding Israeli restrictions on imports, exports, and movement of goods and people continue to disrupt labor and trade flows and the territory’s industrial capacity, and constrain private sector development. The PA’s budget benefited from an effort to improve tax collection, coupled with lower spending in 2017, but the PA for the foreseeable future will continue to rely heavily on donor aid for its budgetary needs and infrastructure development. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $21.22 billion (2014 est.) $20.15 billion (2013 est.) $19.95 billion (2012 est.) note: data are in 2014 US dollars; includes Gaza Strip |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $9.828 billion (2014 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2014 est.) 1% (2013 est.) 6% (2012 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $6,220 (2019 est.) $6,318 (2018 est.) $6,402 (2017 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| Gross national saving | 15.5% of GDP (2018 est.) 14.4% of GDP (2017 est.) 5% of GDP (2012 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 91.3% (2017 est.) government consumption: 26.7% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 23% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 20% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -61% (2017 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.9% (2017 est.) industry: 19.5% (2017 est.) services: 77.6% (2017 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Population below poverty line | 18% (2011 est.) |
| Labor force | 1.24 million (2017 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 11.5% industry: 34.4% services: 54.1% (2013 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Unemployment rate | 27.9% (2017 est.) 27% (2016 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 40.2% male: 34.8% female: 67.2% (2019 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 28.2% (2009 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 33.7 (2016 est.) 38.7 (2007 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| Budget | revenues: 1.314 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 1.278 billion (2017 est.) note: includes Palestinian Authority expenditures in the Gaza Strip |
| Taxes and other revenues | 13.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | 0.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 24.4% of GDP (2014 est.) 23.8% of GDP (2013 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.2% (2017 est.) -0.2% (2016 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Agriculture - products | tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, poultry, milk, potatoes, sheep milk, eggplants, gourds |
| Industries | small-scale manufacturing, quarrying, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.2% (2017 est.) note: includes Gaza Strip |
| Current Account Balance | -$1.444 billion (2017 est.) -$1.348 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $2.126 billion (2017 est.) $1.827 billion (2016 est.) note: excludes Gaza Strip |
| Exports - commodities | stone, olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
| Imports | $6.565 billion (2017 est.) $6.207 billion (2016 est.) note: data include the Gaza Strip |
| Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials, petroleum, chemicals |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $0 (31 December 2017 est.) $583 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.662 billion (31 March 2016 est.) $1.467 billion (31 March 2015 est.) note: data include the Gaza Strip |
| Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.606 (2017 est.) 3.841 (2016 est.) 3.841 (2015 est.) 3.8869 (2014 est.) 3.5779 (2013 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
