Israel
Jerusalem · Western Asia
Israel is a country in Asia. Its capital city is Jerusalem, the official currency is the Israeli New Shekel, and the main language is Hebrew.
With a population of roughly 9.8 million people spread over 22,072 km², Israel is the 94th most populous country in the world and the 148th largest by area. That works out at about 444 people per square kilometre.
Israel shares land borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine — 5 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The highest point in the country is Mount Meron, at 1,208 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Belize, while its population is closest to that of Hungary.
- Capital
- Jerusalem
- Region
- Western Asia
- Population
- 9,800,000
- Area
- 22,072 km²
- Currency
- Israeli New Shekel
- Main language
- Hebrew
- Highest point
- Mount Meron
1,208 m - Land borders
- 5
Israel: things worth knowing
- The Dead Sea shore, on Israel's eastern edge, is the lowest land elevation on Earth at around 430 metres below sea level.
- Hebrew was revived as an everyday spoken language in the 19th and 20th centuries after centuries of liturgical use.
- The country spans a sharp climate gradient, from Mediterranean in the north to desert across most of the Negev in the south.
Israel in context
Asia has 48 sovereign countries in total. Israel ranks 29th among them by population.
See the full list of Asia countries, or browse all 195 countries.