West Bank Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

adequacy of freshwater supply; sewage treatment

Air pollutants

carbon dioxide emissions: 3.23 megatons (2016 est.)

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

Climate

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

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

Urbanization

urban population: 77.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Asia; the West Bank is currently considered a high risk to travelers for polio; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1.387 million tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 6,935 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 0.5% (2013 est.)

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

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and Israel) - 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: 181.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 32 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 162 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

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

Total renewable water resources

837 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

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

NOTE: The information regarding West Bank on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.