State of Israel
Western Asia
Ancient · Sacred · Dynamic
Israel (officially State of Israel) is a country located in Western Asia. Its capital city is Jerusalem, with other major cities including Tel Aviv and Haifa. With a population of approximately 9.4M, the main languages spoken are Hebrew, Arabic. The country covers an area of 21,937 km². The official currency is the Israeli new shekel (₪). Traffic drives on the right side.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees per capita in the world.
Jerusalem serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Israel, positioned in Western Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Tel Aviv, Haifa — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Jerusalem is the most contested city on Earth — Judaism's holiest city, Christianity's site of the crucifixion and resurrection, and Islam's third holiest site all occupying a 0.9-square-kilometre Old City where the Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Al-Aqsa Mosque are separated by metres and centuries of competing theological claim.
With a population of approximately 9.4M, Israel is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Hebrew, Arabic, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Israel is reached via the dialling code +972. Israelis forged a modern state in 1948 from Jewish immigrants from over 100 countries — Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Falasha, Moroccan Sephardim, Russian Ashkenazi, and Mizrahi from Iraq and Iran — who shared a religious heritage but little else, creating a society of vivid cultural hybridity unified by Hebrew's revival as a daily spoken language from its 2,000-year dormancy.
Israel spans 21,937 km², in the Western Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 31.5°N, 35.1°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.
The official currency is the Israeli new shekel (₪), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Israel's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+02:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
The emblematic dish of Israel is Shakshuka. Israeli cuisine fused Ashkenazi European, Sephardic Mediterranean, Mizrahi Middle Eastern, and Palestinian Arab food traditions into a kitchen where hummus debates (who makes it best, how thick, served with what) are conducted with the seriousness of theological disputes, and shakshuka (eggs in tomato sauce) functions as the universal comfort food across cultural lines.
Football holds a special place in the heart of Israel's national identity. Football and basketball compete for Israel's sporting attention, with Maccabi Tel Aviv's five Euroleague basketball championships between 1977 and 2014 representing Israel's most significant European sporting achievement — a success story built partly on importing American-Jewish players in the 1970s before the league restricted foreign player numbers.
The highest point in Israel is Mount Hermon, rising to 2,236 metres above sea level. The Dead Sea at 430 metres below sea level is the lowest point on Earth's surface — a 50-kilometre hypersaline lake where buoyancy makes swimming impossible without floating and where the dry desert air and mineral-rich mud have supported a therapeutic tourism tradition since Herod the Great built a spa retreat here 2,000 years ago.