World Factbook
West Bank
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
5,640 sq km
note
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
water
220 sq km
total
5,860 sq km
Climate
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Terrain
mostly rugged, dissected upland in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River Valley to the east
Land use
note
note: includes Gaza Strip
other
32.1% (2023 est.)
forest
1.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
64.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 11.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 46.1% (2023 est.)
Location
Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
lowest point
Dead Sea -431 m
highest point
Khallat al Batrakh 1,020 m
Irrigated land
(2013) 151 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip
Map references
Middle East
Land boundaries
total
478 km
border countries
Israel 330 km; Jordan 148 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
droughts
Geography - note
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers (2017)
Natural resources
arable land
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Delaware
Geographic coordinates
32 00 N, 35 15 E
Population distribution
the most populous Palestinian communities in the West Bank are located in the central ridge and western half of its territory; Jewish settlements are located throughout the West Bank, the most populous in the Seam Zone -- between the 1949 Armistice Line and the separation barrier -- and around Jerusalem
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and Israel) - 1,020 sq km note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level