In this section, high level stats of IT spending and tech investments are discussed.
Israel is one of the world's leading centers of IT and communications technology even though the country is very small compared to India. The country's strength in these sectors comes from a strong research oriented university base, through to product development for national security and aerospace programs and onto a powerful business sector containing well-established enterprises and hundreds of start-ups.
In 2002 the annual turnover in the ICT sector was $12.4 billion, of which more than $8 billion of export representing 45% of Israel's industrial exports.
65% of all employees (54,800) in the ICT sector are engineers (40%) and technicians (25%) [51]. In 2004, spending on civilian R&D by Israel's business sector rose, while government spending fell. National spending in Israel on civilian research and development rose 164% in 1990-2004 while GDP rose 29% [52].
The share of Israel's information communication technology exports as a percentage
of exports of services is substantially high. In 1997, this share (20.1%) was
second only to Japan (24%), and much higher than the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) average, which was 12.5%.
This illustrates Israel's advantage in the ICT industries.
Source: IMF, Central Bureau of Statistics
Israeli companies have developed innovative software systems in fields such as:
* Electronics and Microsystems
* Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment
* Optics and Photonics
* Nanotechnology
* Telecommunications
* Security and Cryptology
* Embedded Systems
* Medical Equipment
* Internet Technology
Additional statistics are listed below:
| Annual data |
2005(a) |
Historical averages (%) |
2001-05 |
| Population (m) |
6.9 |
Population growth |
2.0 |
| GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) |
123.7(b) |
Real GDP growth |
1.9 |
| GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity) |
155.0(b) |
Real domestic demand growth |
1.2 |
| GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) |
17,843 |
Inflation |
1.7 |
| GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) |
22,356 |
Current-account balance (% of GDP) |
0.2 |
| Exchange rate (av) NIS:US$ |
4.5(b) |
FDI inflows (% of GDP) |
2.9 |
(a) Economist Intelligence Unit estimates. (b) Actual.
Source Economist Intelligence Unit |
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
| GDP per head ($ at PPP) |
19,951 |
19,769 |
19,516 |
19,709 |
| GDP (% real change pa) |
7.53 |
-0.91 |
-0.79 |
1.30 |
| Government consumption (% of GDP) |
27.76 |
29.31 |
31.17 |
30.59 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) |
-0.60 |
-4.60 |
-3.77 |
-5.60 |
| Consumer prices (% change pa; av) |
1.14 |
1.10 |
5.69 |
0.72 |
| Public debt (% of GDP) |
94.03 |
99.06 |
104.26 |
108.60 |
| Labour costs per hour (USD) |
10.17 |
10.52 |
9.18 |
9.24 |
| Recorded unemployment (%) |
8.78 |
9.33 |
10.30 |
10.70 |
| Current-account balance/GDP |
-0.58 |
-1.58 |
-1.33 |
0.60 |
| Foreign-exchange reserves (mUS$) |
23,281 |
23,378 |
24,082 |
26,311 |
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit estimates.
GDP increased by 4.2 percent in 2004 following an increase of 1.3% in 2003 and a decrease of 0.7% in 2002. By 2004 export of goods and services reached $50.1 million.
Domestic Economy
(in $ U.S.) |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): |
$104.2 billion |
$110.4 billion |
$117.2 billion |
GDP Growth Rate: |
-0.7% |
+1.3% |
+4.2% |
Total Foreign Investment: |
$3.4 billion |
$5.5 billion |
$5.3 billion
(first 11 months) |
Exports of Goods and Services: |
$38.6 billion |
$42.4 billion |
$50.1 billion |
(Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Bank of Israel, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade)
Source: Ministry of Telecommunications [53]
Source: Ministry of Telecommunications [53]
The Global Competitiveness Report 2004 – 2005
Source: Ministry of Telecommunications [53]
Investments in High Tech Companies 2004
Source: Ministry of Telecommunications [53]
