The State of the State of Israel

Rotating Prime Ministers, Shamir & Peres in 1984


When you think things look grim in Israel, take heart from how the State has progressed since 1984

* From 1984 through 2013 Israel's population grew from 4.1mn to 8.2mn.
* annual inflation was reduced from 447% to 1.5%,
* foreign exchange reserves expanded from $3.3bn to $90bn,
* exports surged from $10bn to $90bn,
* budget deficit/GDP ratio was reduced from 17% to 2.5%,
* defense expenditures/GDP ratio was shrunk from 20% to 5.5%,
* GDP increased from $26bn to almost $300bn
* and GDP per capita catapulted from $7,000 to $39,000

(Sever Plocker, Yediot Achronot, via Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative").

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