[tictoc]

According to CIA World Factbook:

ISRAEL (pop. 6,116,533 (July 2002 est.) 
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Gross domestic product, purchasing power parity: $122 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:  -1.1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:  (PPP): $19,000 (2002 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):  5.7% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 10.4% (2002 est.)  


EGYPT pop. 74,718,797 (July 2003 est.) 
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GDP, purchasing power parity: $268 billion (2002 est.) 

GDP - real growth rate:  1.7% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:  (PPP): $3,900 (2002 est.)  

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2002)

Unemployment rate: 12% (2001 est.)  

[tictoc]

Regarding the GDP figures for Egypt, the CIA Factbook notes:

"In developing countries with weak currencies the exchange rate estimate of GDP in dollars is typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP estimate."

[Duan]

Thank you . …. The Egyptian economy is more than twice that of Israel. So Veronica must be talking about something else . …. :-)