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As Israel Turns 71, Here Are Some Reasons Behind Its Economic Success
Chutzpah, Holocaust Reparations and the Other Less Talked About Factors
The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. Today, the country turns 71. As far as nations go, Israel is still a teenager. But the country’s economic parameters do not reflect that of one. In all measures, Israel is among the most world’s most developed nations.
Israel’s GDP per capita at the end of 2017 was $40,270, which is higher than the EU average of $33,836. It is also more than all of its immediate Arab neighbours put together. It has a low and stable inflation rate of 1.4 percent and an unemployment rate of 4 percent. Israel is ranked 22 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index — a metric that captures a country’s performance in three dimensions: life expectancy, education and gross national income per capita. The start-up scene in Israel is unparalleled. It has the highest number of start-ups per capita in the world and the per-capita venture capital investment in 2008 was “2.5 times greater than in the United States, more than 30 times greater than in Europe, 80 times greater than in…
