After adjusting its forecast to take into account the world financial crisis, the Bank of Israel still predicts that GDP will grow by 2.7% in 2009. Israel’s GDP in 2006 reached $195 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund, and GDP per capita was $31,767 in 2007, the IMF said.
The high-tech boom, along with the solid fundamentals of Israel’s economy, has helped the country sustain strong growth for decades, with GDP rising in most recent years. The World Economic Forum in its 2007-2008 report called Israel one of the leading countries in the world in technological innovation, ranked first for availability of qualified engineers and total expenditure on R&D. In its latest report, the Israel Venture Association (IVA) said that high-tech companies raised $600 million during the third quarter of 2008, an eight-year quarterly high and up 45 percent from a year earlier, and 29% more than the second quarter. Nearly three quarters of Israel’s $70 billion of exports last year were in the high-tech sector, ministry statistics indicate, and the country has one of the highest per-capita rates of patents filed. With over 100 Israeli companies trading on the NASDAQ – the majority of them in the high-tech business – Israel is one of the world’s technology powerhouses.įirst, some stats: Over little more than a decade, Israel has grown into a high-tech powerhouse, with the technology boom fueling Israel’s amazing GDP growth of the past few years, according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
ICQ is just a case in point: Many Israeli companies developed their “killer” device or application with assistance and investments from venture capital investors and funds – investments that paid off big time when the companies they worked with arrived at a successful exit, either getting bought out by a multinational, or going public themselves, turning into worldwide enterprises which, in turn, snapped up promising Israeli startup ventures. Some of the products produced by the “Israeli brain trust” are well known – like the iconic ICQ chat program, which revolutionized communications, leading to the plethora of Internet-based chat and phone solutions available today. Despite the straightened economic situation, investments in Israel’s high-tech industry will pay off for those willing to take the risk.From processors to software, from innovations in online video to security systems, from cell phone technology to better ways to stay safe on the road, Israel is there – at the forefront, designing and producing the high-tech wizardry that has changed the world.
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