Dream - Although only 48 years old, the newly formed country of Israel on May 14, 1948, is already among the world's richest countries. Despite facing hundreds of years of conflict with Palestine since its establishment, Zionist Israel has managed to achieve this feat. Referring to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita data from the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook 2023, Israel is ranked as the 100th richest country in the world in 2023. According to Global Finance, Israel ranks 32nd, just one level below the United Kingdom. Israel's position is even higher than Italy, which ranks 34th, Japan at 38th, or the newly rich country, China, which is ranked 77th.

However, in 2023, in terms of per capita income, Israel soared far reaching US$58,273. The second highest achievement among Middle Eastern countries after Qatar (US$83,890), based on IMF data. Israel's per capita income exceeds many 'developed' countries such as the United Kingdom (US$46,370), Germany (US$53,800), France (US$45,190), and is twice that of Saudi Arabia (U$29,920). The annual inflation rate has also remained in single digits since the late 1990s, and has become a country with export surplus, despite having a relatively unfriendly environment. So, how did Israel grow so big and so fast?

According to the IMF, this country has reduced spending by cutting subsidies for social sectors (food and transportation) as well as defense. And it has significantly decreased the fiscal deficit. With various reforms implemented by this country, they also devalued their currency, the shekel, and gave more power to their central bank, the Bank of Israel, which controls the credit supply. The results can be seen since 1986, when the inflation rate dropped to around 23 percent. GDP per capita also started to increase rapidly.

The IMF notes show that Israel's GDP per capita (at current prices) was around US$8,000 in 1986, which jumped to around US$20,000 in 1996. In the following 10 years, Israel's GDP per capita did not increase as rapidly, standing at around US$22,700 in 2006, partly due to the country's economy entering a recession in the early 2000s. However, in 2016, this country's GDP per capita surged to US$37,000, reaching US$52,000 within the next five years.

Professor Tomer Fadlon, lecturer and academic advisor for the Master's program in cyber, politics, and government at Tel Aviv University, said: "Israel is a success story of a country facing a severe resource crisis. This scarcity, combined with an economic crisis, has driven us to search for better and better solutions and pathways for growth. The scarcity of resources has made us work harder, and it encapsulates all the economic successes that have occurred," said Tomer Fadlon in a telephone interview with ThePrint.