West Bank Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel

Geographic coordinates

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 5,860 sq km

land: 5,640 sq km

water: 220 sq km

note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries

total: 478 km

border countries (2): Israel 330 km, Jordan 148 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain

mostly rugged, dissected upland in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River Valley to the east

Elevation

highest point: Khallat al Batrakh 1,020 m

lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m

Natural resources

arable land

Land use

agricultural land: 43.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 7.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 11% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 24.9% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.5% (2018 est.)

other: 55.2% (2018 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip

Irrigated land

240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2012)

Total renewable water resources

837 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

note: data represent combined total from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Population distribution

Palestinian settlements are primarily located in the central to western half of the territory; Jewish settlements are found in pockets throughout, particularly in the northeast, north-central, and around Jerusalem

Natural hazards

droughts

Geography - note

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 380 Israeli civilian sites, including about 213 settlements and 132 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 35 sites in East Jerusalem (2017)

NOTE: The information regarding West Bank on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.