Israel Environment - 2024

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.)