Israel Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

limited arable land and restricted natural freshwater resources; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Marine Life Conservation

Climate

temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

Land use

agricultural land: 23.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 13.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 6.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 7.1% (2018 est.)

other: 69.1% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 92.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.51% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 19.47 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 65.17 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 13.02 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 5.4 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1.35 million tons (2017 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 25% (2017 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km
note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 1.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

1.78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Israel on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Israel 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Israel 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.