Demographics of the Palestinian territories

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the area which is commonly described as Palestinian territories and includes information on ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of that population.

According to a commonly used definition as relating to an application of the 1949 Armistice Agreement green line, the Palestinian territories have contributory parts of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian National Authority, the United Nations Security Council,[1] the United Nations General Assembly,[2] the European Union,[3] the International Court of Justice,[4] and the International Committee of the Red Cross[5] use the terminology "Palestinian territories" or "occupied Palestinian territories". Israel refers to the administrative division encompassing Israeli-controlled Jewish-majority civilian areas of Area C of the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, as Judea and Samaria Area (Hebrew: אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן‎, Ezor Yehuda VeShomron).[6]

Overview

The demographic statistics of the CIA World Factbook and the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that the collective Palestinian Arab population in the region of Palestine, including Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, amounted to 5.79 million people in 2017.[7][8] Thereof, 2.16 million Arabs live in the West Bank, 1.84 million Arabs live in Israel, and 1.79 million Arabs live in the Gaza Strip.[7][8]

The demographic statistics of the CIA World Factbook and the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics estimated (2017) that the collective population in the Palestinian territories amounted to 4,543,126 people in 2017. Thereof, 2,155,743 Arabs live in the West Bank, 1,795,183 Arabs live in the Gaza Strip, and 391,000 Jews live in the West Bank.[8] Approximately 214,600 Jews live in East Jerusalem.[9] East Jerusalem, once administered by Jordan, came under Israeli occupation after the 1967 Six-Day War.[10] In the Palestinian territories, c. 86% of the population is Arab (predominantly Sunni), c. 13% is Jewish, other <1% (cf. Israel: Jewish 74%, Arab 21%, other 5%).[8]

According to the UN, the population in the State of Palestine was c. 4.9 million in 2017, resulting in an estimated population density of 817 capita per km².[11] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the number of Palestinians in the Palestinian Territory was 3,935,249 in 2009, resulting in a calculated population density of 654 capita per km², of which 433 capita/km² in the West Bank including Jerusalem and 4,073 capita/km² in Gaza Strip.[12] In the mid-2009, the share of population less than 15 years was 41.9% and above 65 years 3%.[12]

Out of 224 listed countries and territories, the West Bank ranked 48th with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 3.2, and the Gaza Strip ranked 31st with a TFR of 3.97 according to the CIA World Factbook 2018.[13] In 2018, the West Bank had an estimated population growth rate of 1.81% (country comparison to the world: 56th) and the Gaza Strip had a population growth rate of 2.25% (35th).[14][15][16]

Population (mid-year, millions)[17][18][19]
Year	West Bank	Gaza	Total
1970	0.69	0.34	1.03
1980	0.90	0.46	1.36
1990	1.25	0.65	1.90
2000	1.98	1.13	3.11
2010	2.52	1.60	4.12
2014	2.73	1.82	4.55
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
2006	2.5	1.5	4.0
2009	2.48	1.45	3.94
Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Name	Population (2017)	Area (km^2)	Pop. density (capita per km^2)
West Bank [20]	2,747,943	5,860	469 [21]
Gaza Strip [14]	1,795,183	360	4,987 [22]
Total	4,543,126	6,220	730[23]

Palestinian territories[24]

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1997	2,783,084	—
1998	2,871,568	+3.18%
1999	2,962,226	+3.16%
2000	3,053,335	+3.08%
2001	3,138,471	+2.79%
2002	3,225,214	+2.76%
2003	3,314,509	+2.77%
2004	3,407,417	+2.80%
2005	3,508,126	+2.96%
2006	3,611,198	+2.94%
2007	3,719,189	+2.99%
2008	3,825,512	+2.86%
2009	3,935,249	+2.87%
2010	4,048,403	+2.88%
2011	4,168,860	+2.98%
2012	4,293,313	+2.99%
2013	4,420,549	+2.96%
2014	4,550,368	+2.94%
2015	4,682,467	+2.90%
2016	4,816,503	+2.86%
2017	4,952,168	+2.82%

West Bank[24]

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2012	2,649,020	—
2013	2,719,112	+2.65%
2014	2,790,331	+2.62%
2015	2,862,485	+2.59%
2016	2,935,368	+2.55%
2017	3,008,770	+2.50%

Gaza Strip[24]

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2012	1,644,293	—
2013	1,701,437	+3.48%
2014	1,760,037	+3.44%
2015	1,819,982	+3.41%
2016	1,881,135	+3.36%
2017	1,943,398	+3.31%

Vital statistics

UN estimates[25]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR^1	CDR^1	NC^1	TFR^1	IMR^1
1950–1955	44 000	19 000	25 000	46.7	20.0	26.7	7.38	158.2
1955–1960	49 000	19 000	30 000	46.7	18.5	28.2	7.38	147.0
1960–1965	59 000	19 000	40 000	52.5	16.8	35.7	8.00	129.9
1965–1970	60 000	16 000	43 000	52.5	14.0	38.5	8.00	109.1
1970–1975	60 000	14 000	46 000	46.6	11.2	35.4	7.69	89.8
1975–1980	67 000	13 000	54 000	47.8	8.9	38.9	7.50	70.6
1980–1985	73 000	11 000	62 000	44.6	6.8	37.8	7.05	53.0
1985–1990	83 000	11 000	72 000	45.1	5.5	39.6	6.43	40.0
1990–1995	107 000	11 000	96 000	45.6	4.8	40.8	6.59	32.9
1995–2000	118 000	12 000	106 000	42.0	4.1	37.9	5.77	27.6
2000–2005	122 000	13 000	109 000	39.1	3.8	35.3	5.05	24.6
2005–2010	128 000	14 000	115 000	35.9	3.6	32.3	4.65	22.2
2010–2015	144 000	16 000	128 000				4.28
^1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Births and deaths [26]

Year	Population (x1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
2010		137 085	10 764	126 231				4.4
2011		131 430	11 333	120 097
2012		129 826	11 676	118 150
2013		126 912	11 013	115 899				4.1

Population pyramids[27]

Census (01/12/2007) (Data have not been adjusted for underenumeration. Excluding data from the parts of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israel in 1967.)

Census (01/12/2007) :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 747 284	1 696 544	3 443 828	100
0-4	266 052	253 883	519 935	15.10
5-9	239 156	227 724	466 880	13.56
10-14	238 306	227 967	466 273	13.54
15-19	211 464	202 975	414 439	12.03
20-24	158 374	151 561	309 935	9.00
25-29	128 068	124 159	252 227	7.32
30-34	108 945	106 343	215 288	6.25
35-39	90 155	86 905	177 060	5.14
40-44	81 186	75 328	156 514	4.54
45-49	60 832	56 748	117 580	3.41
50-54	41 606	41 695	83 301	2.42
55-59	32 011	30 999	63 010	1.83
60-64	22 060	25 769	47 829	1.39
65-69	13 853	19 844	33 697	0.98
70-74	12 689	16 627	29 316	0.85
75-79	8 599	12 536	21 135	0.61
80-84	4 861	6 888	11 749	0.34
85-89	2 318	3 026	5 344	0.16
90-94	871	1 133	2 004	0.06
95+	464	597	1 061	0.03
unknown	25 414	23 837	49 251	0.14

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	743 514	709 574	1 453 088	42.19
15-64	934 701	902 482	1 837 183	53.35
65+	43 655	60 651	104 306	3.03

Estimates (01/07/2013)

Estimates (01/07/2013) :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 245 400	2 175 149	4 420 549	100
0-4	333 246	319 213	652 459	14.76
5-9	295 678	283 886	579 564	13.11
10-14	275 428	263 679	539 107	12.20
15-19	262 267	251 710	513 977	11.63
20-24	230 888	221 790	452 678	10.24
25-29	182 448	174 730	357 178	8.08
30-34	144 721	138 652	283 373	6.41
35-39	122 846	119 333	242 179	5.48
40-44	103 233	100 276	203 509	4.60
45-49	87 969	82 580	170 549	3.86
50-54	70 535	65 239	135 774	3.07
55-59	48 912	46 910	95 822	2.17
60-64	32 353	33 581	65 934	1.49
65-69	21 985	26 414	48 399	1.09
70-74	14 201	19 831	34 032	0.77
75-79	9 344	13 728	23 072	0.52
80+	9 346	13 597	22 943	0.52

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	904 352	866 778	1 771 130	40.07
15-64	1 286 172	1 234 801	2 520 973	57.03
65+	54 876	73 570	128 446	2.91

Palestinian Central Bureau[28]

	fertility rate (Gaza)	birth rate (Gaza)	death rate (Gaza)	Natural change(Gaza)
1997		45.4	4.7	40.7
2000		44.5	4.3	40.2
2005		42.2	3.9	39.3
2009		36.9	4.1	32.8
2010	4.9	37.1	4.0	33.1
2011		37.2	3.9	34.3
2013		37.1	3.7	34.4

	fertility rate (West Bank)	birth rate (West Bank)	death rate (West Bank)	Natural change(West Bank)
1997		41.2	5.1	36.1
2000		38.8	4.6	34.2
2005		34.5	4.1	30.4
2009		30.1	4.4	25.7
2010	3.8	30.1	4.2	25.9
2011		30.1	4.1	26.0
2013		29.7	4.0	25.7

Life expectancy

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.[29]

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	46.6	1985–1990	67.1
1955–1960	48.2	1990–1995	68.9
1960–1965	50.8	1995–2000	70.3
1965–1970	54.1	2000–2005	71.2
1970–1975	57.5	2005–2010	72.0
1975–1980	61.0	2010–2015	72.9
1980–1985	64.4

Demographics of the West Bank

Population pyramid Gaza Strip 2016

Population pyramid West Bank 2016

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Total 2,939,418 (July 2018 est.); 71.97% of the population is Arab (predominantly Sunni), 28.02% is Jewish[8] (cf. Israel: Jewish 74%, Arab 21%, other 5%; and Gaza: Arab 99%)[30]

• Palestinian Arab 2,155,743 (July 2017 est.), 71.97%[8]
• Israeli Jew 823,642 (2016, 2018 est.), 28.02%[8]
  • approximately 448,672 Israeli Jews thereof live in the West Bank (2018)[31]
  • approximately 375,000 Israeli Jews thereof live in East Jerusalem (2016)[32]

Age structure

0–14 years: 36.1% (male 518,376/female 491,676)

15–24 years: 21.8% (male 302,474/female 289,852)

25–54 years: 34.5% (male 489,559/female 475,402)

55–64 years: 4.7% (male 68,317/female 64,233)

65 years and over: 3.5% (male 44,662/female 53,943) (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

1.81% (2018 est.)

Birth rate

26 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Mortality rate

3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Net migration rate

-4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25–54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55–64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 13.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.4 years
male: 73.4 years
female: 77.6 years (2018 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.2 children born/woman (2018 est.)

• Jewish population: 5.07 children born/woman (West Bank alone)[33]

Nationality

noun: Arabs: Palestinian

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab: 83%
Israeli Jewish and other: 17%

Religions

Muslim 80–85% (predominantly Sunni)
Jewish 12–14%
Christian 1.0–2.5%, (mainly Greek Orthodox)[8]
Other religious minorities include Palestinian Metawalis, Palestinian Druze and Palestinian Baha'is.

Languages

Arabic, English (compulsory in schools, widely spoken by Palestinians), and Hebrew (spoken by Israeli Jews in the West Bank, and spoken by many Palestinians) are commonly known.

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.9%
male: 98.6%
female: 95.2% (2016 est.)

Demographics of the Gaza Strip

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Current: 1,836,713 (July 2018 est.)[34]

In 2010 approximately 1.6 million Palestinians lived in the Gaza Strip,[35] almost 1.0 million of them UN-registered refugees.[36]

The Strip's population has continued to increase since that time, one of the main reasons being a total fertility rate of 4.24 children per woman (2014 est). In a ranking by total fertility rate, this places Gaza 34th of 224 regions.[37]

Age structure

0–14 years: 44.1% (male 415,746/female 394,195)
15–24 years: 21.3% (male 197,797/female 194,112)
25–54 years: 28.5% (male 256,103/female 267,285)
55–64 years: 3.5% (male 33,413/female 30,592)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 24,863/female 22,607) (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

2.25% (2018 est.)

Birth rate

30.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Mortality rate

3 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Net migration rate

-5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25–54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
55–64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total population: 16/1,000 live births
male: 17.1/1,000 live births
female: 14.9/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.4 years
male: 72.7 years
female: 76.2 years (2018 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.97 children born/woman (2018 est.)

Nationality

noun: Palestinians
adjective: Palestinian

Ethnic groups

Arab (Palestinian) 98.7%

Religions

Sunni Muslim 98–99%, Arab Christians 0.2% (2,000 to 3,000 est.), other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1.0% (2012 est.).[38][39]

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.9%
male: 98.6%
female: 95.2% (2016 est.)

See also

• Demographic history of Palestine (region)
• Economy of the Palestinian territories
• Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
• Politics of the Palestinian National Authority
• CIA World Fact Book
• Demographics of Israel
• Population statistics for Israeli West Bank settlements

References

1. Resolution 446, Resolution 465, Resolution 484, among others
2. "Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories". United Nations. 17 December 2003. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
3. "EU-Settlements Watch" (PDF). 1 February – 31 July 2002.
4. "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". International Court of Justice. 9 July 2004. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
5. "Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross". International Committee of the Red Cross. 5 December 2001. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
6. "Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
7. "Population of Israel on the Eve of 2018 - 8.8 Million". Press Release. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
8. "CIA – The World Factbook: West Bank". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
9. jerusalem.muni.il (PDF). 2017 http://en.jerusaleminstitute.org.il/.upload/jerusalem/Jeruslaem%20Facts%20and%20Trends%202018-%202.Population.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. Ian S. Lustick, "Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem?", Middle East Policy, Vol. V, No. 1, pp. 34-45, January 1997; accessed 25 November 2014.
11. "State of Palestine - General Information". data.un.org. United Nations. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
12. Palestine in Figures 2009 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, May 2010
13. "COUNTRY COMPARISON :: TOTAL FERTILITY RATE". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
14. "Middle East :: WEST BANK". The World Fact Book. CIA. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
15. "Middle East :: GAZA STRIP". The World Fact Book. CIA. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
16. "COUNTRY COMPARISON :: POPULATION GROWTH RATE". The World Fact Book. CIA. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
17. US Census Bureau International Programs Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine International Data Base IDB West Bank and Gaza
18. Palestinians in figures 2009 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics May 2010
19. Palestinians at the End of Year 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
20. "Middle East :: GAZA STRIP". The World Fact Book. CIA. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
21. cf. South Korea 507 capita per km²
22. cf. Hong Kong 6,544 capita per km²
23. cf. Guernsey 965 capita per km² and Taiwan 650 cap. per km²
24. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
25. World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
26. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab3.pdf
27. "Demographic Yearbook". UN Data. United Nations. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
29. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
30. "CIA – The World Factbook: Israel". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
31. "Settlement population growth slows for 10th straight year". Retrieved 2019-11-04.
32. "Settlement population growth slows for 10th straight year". Retrieved 2019-12-04.
33. Israeli CBS 2011 data
34. "CIA – The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
35. "CIA – The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
36. "UNRWA: Palestine refugees". Un.org. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
37. "CIA – The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
38. Middle East Christians: Gaza pastor BBC News, 21 December 2005
39. "Middle East :: Gaza Strip — the World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency".

External links

• CIA World Factbook
• Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, People of Palestine (Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books, 2012), ASIN: B0094TU8VY
• Demography of the Palestinian population with special emphasis on the occupied territories, 1995 paper by Arjun L. Adlakha, Kevin G. Kinsella and Marwan Khawaja. Available at Population Bulletin of ESCWA's website.