Fast Facts About Israel

1. Israel has the highest number of companies listed on the U.S. Stock exchange after the US and Canada
   
   
2. Israel has the highest percentage of home computers per capita
   
   
3. Israel leads the world in the numbers of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000
   
   
4. Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in the number of trees
   
   
5. Israel has the largest fleet of aircraft outside of the U.S.
   
   
6. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the middle east
   
   
7. The most popular product in Israel is the soup nut
   
   
8. Israeli bank notes have brail on them so the blind can identify them
   
   
9. Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than anywhere in the world, and its free
   
   
10. Many bus stops in busy areas have tzedaka boxes
    
    
11. One of the most famous music singers in Israel today is Idan Reichel, even though his ancestry is Eastern European
    
    
12. The Dead Sea in Israel is the lowest point on earth, at 1,315 feet below sea level at its lowest point
    
    
13. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country in the world
    
    
14. The two most common family names in Israel are Cohen and Levi
    
    
15. Over the past 25 years agricultural output has increased sevenfold with hardly any increase in the amount of water used
    
    
16. Israel has a higher life expectancy, lower average infant mortality rate and almost double the amount of doctors per patient ratio than the U.S.
    
    
17. Each of Israel's holy sites is administered by its own religious authority, while protection against desecration and trespassing as well as free access are guaranteed by law.
    
    
18. The glue on the back of Israeli stamps is kosher.
    
    
19. Israel has its own festival of love, called Tu B'Av.
    
    
20. Almost 1/3 of all Israelis are volunteers.
    
    
21. Sesame Street in Israel has puppets that speak Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian. One character, Moshe Oofnik, is the cousin of Oscar the Grouch.
    
    
22. Voters in Israel had over 20 political parties to choose from in the most recent Israeli national elections.
    
    
23. Israel receives more media coverage, per capita and per square foot, than any other nation on earth.
    
    
24. Since 1996, Palestinians have been asked in polls which democracy and governments they most admire, Israel came in top in every survey (at times receiving over 80% approval ratings)
    
    
25. Haoman 17 in Jerusalem has been rated one of the top night clubs in the world. Top international DJs frequently play at the club.