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FACTS & STATISTICS
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Air force personnel
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32,000 |
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[16th of 49]
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Armed forces growth
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21 |
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[52nd of 132]
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Armed forces personnel
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172,000 |
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[29th of 166]
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Army personnel
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134,000 |
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[17th of 49]
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Conscription
Conscription exists (AI). |
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Conventional arms exports
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$283,000,000.00 |
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[7th of 40]
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Conventional arms imports
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$724,000,000.00 |
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[7th of 85]
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Expenditures > Dollar figure
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$8,970,000,000.00 |
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[14th of 170]
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Manpower > Availability > Males age 15-49
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1,562,720 |
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[99th of 175]
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Manpower > Military age
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18 |
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[99th of 129]
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Navy personnel
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9,000 |
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[29th of 49]
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personnel > % of total labor force
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6.45 %
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...
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[5th of 168]
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Service age and obligation
17 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for men, 21 months for women (2004) |
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US military exports
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$1,630,930.00 thousand |
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[3rd of 109]
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Weapon holdings
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15,985,000 |
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[4th of 137]
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WMD > Biological
Israel's neighboring states allege that Israel has an offensive biological weapons (BW) program, but there are no reliable sources on specific biological agents the Israelis may possess. Reportedly, Israeli specialized military units sabotaged water wells with typhoid and dysentery bacteria in Acre (near Haifa), Palestine during the 1948 war, but evidence of such events is fragmentary. Speculation that the program is located at the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona has raised both international and domestic concerns. Activists within the Israeli community have recently protested the expansion of the Institute due to reports, denied by Israeli officials, of multiple injuries and deaths within the facility and one near-evacuation of the surrounding area. Israel is not a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). In 2001, Israel's foreign and defense ministries reassessed policy with regard to the BWC, but no change in approach has yet been made public. |
WMD > Chemical
While there are allegations that Israel has an advanced chemical weapons (CW) program, no confirmed evidence of production or stockpiling exists. Some reports have suggested an offensive CW program is located at the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Ziona. In October 1992, an El Al airliner carrying a cargo of approximately 50 gallons of dimethyl methylphosphonate (a widely used simulant for defensive research but also a possible precursor of sarin nerve agent) destined for the Institute crashed in Amsterdam. Israel stated that this material was being imported to test gas masks. Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). |
WMD > Missile
Israel's missile program began in the 1960s. Israel has a varied missile industry, having developed ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as missile defense systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Jericho ballistic missiles series was initiated in the 1960s with French assistance, beginning with the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) Jericho-1 with a 500 km range. In the 1970s, Israel developed the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Jericho-2, a two-stage, solid-fueled missile with a range of 1,500 to 3,500 km. There are some unconfirmed reports that suggest the existence of a 4,800 km-range Jericho-3 missile that may stem from Israel's space launch vehicle, the Shavit. Israel has also developed, with U.S. financial assistance, the Arrow theater defense missile, which has become one of the only functioning missile defense systems in the world. In addition to these systems, Israel has become a leading exporter of UAVs. Israel is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), though it has pledged to abide by the MTCR Guidelines. Israel has recently reported to have successfully tested the Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile system, as well as new long-range guided missiles. |
WMD > Nuclear
Israel has the most advanced nuclear weapons program in the Middle East. David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, clandestinely established the program in the late 1950s to meet the perceived existential threat to the nascent state. The program allegedly is centered at the Negev Nuclear Research Center, outside the town of Dimona. Based on estimates of the plutonium production capacity of the Dimona reactor, Israel has approximately 100-200 nuclear explosive devices. Officially, Israel has declared that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East; however, it has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Israel's possession of nuclear weapons and its policy of declaratory ambiguity have led to increased tensions in current Middle East peace discussions and arms control negotiations. In July 2004, however, Israel accepted a visit from International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei. Israeli officials continue assert that they will address disarmament only after a comprehensive Middle Eastern peace is obtained, and to deny international inspection of the Dimona nuclear complex. |
WMD > Overview
Forged by the experience of the Holocaust, and its geography defined within a hostile neighborhood, the modern state of Israel has developed a range of weapons systems to ensure its security. Based on the real or perceived threat from its Arab and Persian neighbors, Israel continues to maintain a highly advanced military, a nuclear weapons program, and offensive and defensive missiles. There are unconfirmed allegations that Israel has sought chemical and biological weapons as well. |
... View all Military stats
SOURCES: Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy; calculated on the basis of data on armed forces from IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies). 2001. The Military Balance 2001-2002. Oxford: Oxford University Press; IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies). 2001. The Military Balance 2001-2002. Oxford: Oxford University Press; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, 1997. Data collected from the nations concerned, unless otherwise indicated. Acronyms: Amnesty International (AI); European Council of Conscripts Organizations (ECCO); Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC); International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHFHR); National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors (NISBCO); Service, Peace and Justice in Latin America (SERPAJ); War Resisters International (WRI); World Council of Churches (WCC); SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). 2005. SIPRI Arms Transfers. Database. February. Stockholm.; CIA World Factbook, 28 July 2005; CIA World Factbook, December 2003; World Development Indicators database; CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007
; Study by David Lochhead and James Morrell; available from the Center for International Policy; Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC); The Nuclear Threat Initiative
ALTERNATIVE NAMES:
Israel, State of Israel, Medinat Yisra'el, Yisra'el
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