Israel

This article is about the country. For the region, see Land of Israel. For the biblical figure also named Israel, see Jacob. For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation).

State of Israel מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (Hebrew) Medīnat Yisrā'el دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل (Arabic) Dawlat Isrā'īl
Flag Emblem
Anthem: הַתִּקְוָה (Hatīkvāh; "The Hope")
Israeli territory   The Golan Heights, under Israeli control.   The West Bank, which is largely controlled by Israel, and the Gaza Strip, which Israel has been occupying since 2023.
Capital and largest city	Jerusalem (limited recognition) 31°47′N 35°13′E
Official language	Hebrew
Special status	Arabic
Ethnic groups (2025 est.)	71.9% Jews 21% Arabs 7.1% others
Religion (2023 est.)	73.7% Judaism 18.3% Islam 1.9% Christianity 1.6% Druze faith 4.5% others
Demonym	Israeli
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Isaac Herzog
• Prime Minister	Benjamin Netanyahu
Legislature	Knesset
Establishment
• Declaration of independence	14 May 1948
Area
• Total	22,072 or 20,770 km2 (8,522 or 8,019 sq mi) (148th)
• Water (%)	2.71
Population
• 2026 estimate	10,147,200 (93rd)
• 2022 census	9,601,720
• Density	465/km2 (1,204.3/sq mi) (30th)
GDP (PPP)	2026 estimate
• Total	$609.411 billion (50th)
• Per capita	$59,095 (35th)
GDP (nominal)	2026 estimate
• Total	$719.848 billion (25th)
• Per capita	$69,804 (14th)
Gini (2021)	37.9 medium inequality
HDI (2023)	0.919 very high (27th)
Currency	New shekel (₪) (ILS)
Time zone	UTC+2:00 (IST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3:00 (IDT)
Calling code	+972
ISO 3166 code	IL
Internet TLD	.il

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.

The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and Hasmonean Judea. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century Jewish nationalism, alongside European antisemitism, fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with an overwhelming Arab majority. The movement gained British support with the 1917 Balfour Declaration. After World War I, Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine. British rule and Jewish immigration in the leadup to the Holocaust intensified Arab-Jewish tensions with Arab opposition to Zionism driven largely by concerns of displacement and dispossession. The 1947 UN Partition Plan proposed separate Arab and Jewish states. The Jewish leadership accepted the plan while the Palestinian Arab leadership rejected it, arguing it violated the principle of self-determination and constituted Western colonial interference. Civil war followed, and Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, shortly before the end of the mandate. The conflict subsequently escalated with the intervention of Arab states.

The 1949 armistice left Israel controlling more territory than had been allocated to it under the UN partition plan. No independent Palestinian Arab state was established, leaving Gaza under Egyptian control and the West Bank ruled by Jordan. Most Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the Nakba, while Israeli independence prompted antisemitism in the Arab world and Jewish exodus therefrom, mainly to Israel. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and Egyptian Sinai, and annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. Peace treaties were signed with Egypt in 1979 (the Sinai being returned in 1982) and Jordan in 1994. The 1993 Oslo Accords introduced limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza, while the 2020 Abraham Accords normalised ties with more Arab states, but the Israeli–Palestinian conflict persists. Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories has drawn international criticism, with most Middle East experts arguing that Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank in relation to Israeli settlers constitutes a system of apartheid. After the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, Israel began committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel and its allies, including the United States, deny that Israel's actions constitute genocide.

The Basic Laws of Israel establish the Knesset as a proportionally elected parliament. It shapes the government, led by the prime minister, and elects the largely ceremonial president. Israel has one of the Middle East's largest economies, one of Asia's highest living standards, and globally ranks 25th in nominal GDP and 14th in nominal GDP per capita. One of the world's most technologically advanced countries, Israel allocates a larger share of its economy to research and development than any other state and is believed to possess nuclear weapons. The only country with a revived official language, Hebrew, the culture of Israel combines Jewish traditions with Arab influences.