West Bank Geography - 2024

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

(2013) 151 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip

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

Population distribution

the most populous Palestinian communities in the West Bank are located in the central ridge and western half of its territory; Jewish settlements are located throughout the West Bank, the most populous in the Seam Zone--between the 1949 Armistice Line and the separation barrier--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)