Israel’s foreign currency deficit has reached $10 billion, the Treasury announced. On a per capita basis, the debt amounts to more than $3000 for each Israeli citizen, the highest in the world, according to economists. It is the equivalent of three years’ exports.
The Treasury said the $10 billion point was expected to have been reached only by the end of this year. The deficit was accelerated partly because of $280 million worth of military imports last year which included equipment that should have been imported during the previous fiscal year but was postponed. The deficit increased by $425 million in January, 1977 alone, the Treasury reported.
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