Country · Asia
Israel
State of Israel
Israel is a country in Western Asia. About 8.9 million people live there, in an area of 20 770 square kilometres. Its capital city is Jerusalem.
Israel names Jerusalem as its capital. Many other countries do not accept that and keep their embassies in Tel Aviv. The countries of the world do not agree about the status of the city.
Picture credit: שלמה רודד (CC BY 2.5) · דוידי ורדי (CC BY 2.5) · שלמה רודד (CC BY 2.5) · askii (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Godot13 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Israel?
Israel lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 503 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 273 km long.
It shares a border with 5 countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
How big is Israel?
Israel covers 20 770 square kilometres.
That is about 8 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 149th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 427.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Israel?
About 8.9 million people live in Israel.
That is the 96th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic and Hebrew.
They pay with the Israeli new shekel (₪).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 79 years.
The land of Israel
The land of Israel sits on average 508 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 273 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 14 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Israel different?
Dishes the country is known for: Hummus, falafel and Meorav Yerushalmi.
Websites from here often end in .il.
Israel and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Israel.
It takes up about 0.02 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 38th of 46 by size, and 30th by population.
Israel and its neighbours
Egypt, its largest neighbour, is about 48.3 times bigger.
Egypt has more people: 98.4 million against 8.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Israel: Rock hyrax. The highest mountain in the country is Har Meron, at 1 204 metres. The longest river in the country is the Jordan River. The largest lake in the country is Sea of Galilee.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Israel compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 451 times as big as Israel: 9 372 610 km² against 20 770 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 12 times as big as Israel: 242 900 km² against 20 770 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Israel?
The capital of Israel is Jerusalem.
How many people live in Israel?
About 8.9 million people live in Israel, which makes it the 96th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Israel?
How big is Israel?
Israel covers 20 770 square kilometres, making it the 149th largest country in the world. That is about 8 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Israel?
The highest mountain in Israel is Har Meron, 1 204 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Israel?
The longest river in Israel is the Jordan River, about 251 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Israel?
The largest lake in Israel is Sea of Galilee. It covers about 167 km².
Which continent is Israel in?
Israel is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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