Demographics of the State of Palestine

Demographics of State of Palestine
Population pyramid of the State of Palestine in 2020
Population
Growth rate
  • 1.69% (West Bank – 2022 est.)
  • 2.02% (Gaza Strip – 2022 est.)
Birth rate
  • 24.42 births/1,000 population (West Bank – 2022 est.)
  • 27.67 births/1,000 population (Gaza Strip – 2022 est.)
Death rate
  • 3.4 deaths/1,000 population (West Bank – 2022 est.)
  • 2.91 deaths/1,000 population (Gaza Strip – 2022 est.)
Language
SpokenArabic, Hebrew (by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians)

Demographic features of the population of the area commonly described as Palestinian territories 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, the United Nations General Assembly, the European Union, the International Court of Justice, and the International Committee of the Red Cross 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).

Overview

Demographic map of Gaza, West Bank, Israel proper and the Golan Heights

The demographic statistics of The 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. Of these, 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.

The demographic statistics of The 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. Approximately 214,600 Jews live in East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem, once administered by Jordan, came under Israeli occupation after the 1967 Six-Day War. 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%).

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. In the mid-2009, the share of population less than 15 years was 41.9% and above 65 years 3%.

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. However, a Census held on 1 December 2017 resulted in a total of 4,781.245. The estimate of the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics for mid 2023 showed a population total of 5,483,450.

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 World Factbook in 2018. 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).

Population (mid-year, millions)
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 Area
in
km2
Pop'n
Census
1 Dec 2017
Pop'n
Estimate
mid 2023
Pop'n
density
mid 2023
(per km2)
West Bank 5,655 2,881,954 3,256,906 576
Gaza Strip 365 1,899,291 2,226,544 6,100
Total 6,020 4,781,245 5,483,450 911
Palestinian territories
YearPop.±% 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%
2021 5,227,193+1.36%
West Bank
YearPop.±% 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%
2021 3,120,448+0.92%
Gaza Strip
YearPop.±% 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%
2021 2,106,745+2.04%

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950   945   46   20   26 48.3 21.0 27.3 7.84 142.3 45.79
1951   953   47   20   27 48.5 20.9 27.7 7.84 141.7 45.88
1952   963   47   20   27 48.7 20.6 28.1 7.84 140.5 46.09
1953   973   48   20   28 48.9 20.4 28.5 7.83 139.1 46.33
1954   985   49   20   29 49.2 20.1 29.1 7.83 137.5 46.61
1955   997   50   20   30 49.4 19.8 29.6 7.82 135.8 46.92
1956   1 010   51   20   31 49.7 19.5 30.2 7.82 133.8 47.27
1957   1 025   52   20   32 49.9 19.1 30.8 7.81 131.7 47.66
1958   1 040   53   20   33 50.1 18.7 31.4 7.81 129.4 48.08
1959   1 057   54   19   34 50.3 18.3 32.0 7.81 126.9 48.53
1960   1 074   55   19   35 50.4 17.8 32.6 7.79 124.3 49.01
1961   1 092   56   19   36 50.4 17.3 33.1 7.79 121.4 49.55
1962   1 110   57   19   38 50.5 16.8 33.7 7.79 118.4 50.12
1963   1 128   57   19   39 50.4 16.3 34.2 7.78 115.1 50.75
1964   1 142   58   18   40 50.4 15.7 34.6 7.78 111.7 51.38
1965   1 149   59   18   41 50.3 15.2 35.1 7.78 108.2 52.03
1966   1 148   59   17   42 50.2 14.6 35.5 7.75 104.7 52.69
1967   1 137   58   18   41 50.1 15.2 34.9 7.74 101.1 50.97
1968   1 123   57   16   42 49.9 13.5 36.3 7.71 97.7 54.03
1969   1 115   57   15   42 49.7 13.0 36.6 7.68 94.1 54.70
1970   1 118   56   14   42 49.4 12.5 36.9 7.65 90.6 55.35
1971   1 136   56   14   43 49.2 12.0 37.2 7.61 87.3 55.99
1972   1 167   57   14   44 49.0 11.5 37.5 7.59 84.0 56.65
1973   1 195   59   31   28 49.2 26.0 23.2 7.55 80.8 34.74
1974   1 225   61   13   48 49.3 10.6 38.7 7.52 77.8 57.98
1975   1 264   62   13   49 49.1 10.2 38.9 7.48 74.8 58.64
1976   1 301   64   13   51 48.8 9.7 39.1 7.44 71.6 59.32
1977   1 337   65   13   53 48.4 9.3 39.1 7.38 68.5 60.00
1978   1 374   66   12   54 48.0 8.9 39.1 7.33 65.6 60.66
1979   1 413   68   12   56 47.6 8.4 39.2 7.28 62.4 61.39
1980   1 454   69   12   57 47.3 8.0 39.3 7.23 59.2 62.11
1981   1 498   71   11   59 47.0 7.6 39.4 7.17 56.2 62.79
1982   1 546   73   11   61 46.8 7.2 39.6 7.12 53.4 63.45
1983   1 604   75   11   64 46.6 6.9 39.7 7.07 50.5 64.16
1984   1 674   78   11   67 46.4 6.5 39.9 7.01 47.9 64.80
1985   1 731   81   11   70 46.1 6.2 39.9 6.95 45.6 65.36
1986   1 775   82   11   71 46.0 6.0 40.0 6.91 43.6 65.86
1987   1 863   84   11   74 46.0 5.7 40.2 6.88 41.3 66.42
1988   1 963   90   11   79 45.9 5.5 40.4 6.85 39.2 66.84
1989   2 041   94   11   83 45.9 5.3 40.6 6.81 37.4 67.28
1990   2 125   98   11   87 46.0 5.1 40.9 6.78 35.8 67.93
1991   2 214   102   11   91 45.9 4.9 40.9 6.72 34.7 68.31
1992   2 310   105   11   94 45.6 4.8 40.8 6.63 33.3 68.59
1993   2 411   108   11   97 44.8 4.7 40.1 6.50 32.1 68.85
1994   2 515   110   11   99 43.8 4.4 39.4 6.34 30.7 69.41
1995   2 623   112   11   101 42.8 4.3 38.5 6.18 29.6 69.66
1996   2 734   114   11   102 41.6 4.1 37.5 6.00 28.6 70.06
1997   2 847   115   11   104 40.5 4.0 36.5 5.82 27.6 70.40
1998   2 951   118   12   106 39.8 3.9 35.9 5.70 26.8 70.63
1999   3 044   120   12   108 39.2 3.8 35.3 5.58 26.0 70.86
2000   3 140   121   13   108 38.4 4.0 34.5 5.44 25.3 70.39
2001   3 230   122   13   109 37.7 4.1 33.6 5.32 24.6 69.89
2002   3 309   123   13   111 37.1 3.8 33.2 5.19 24.1 70.97
2003   3 384   123   13   110 36.1 3.8 32.3 5.02 23.2 71.05
2004   3 460   124   13   111 35.7 3.8 31.9 4.94 22.4 71.18
2005   3 541   125   13   112 35.2 3.6 31.6 4.84 21.7 72.07
2006   3 628   125   13   112 34.5 3.6 30.8 4.72 21.0 71.92
2007   3 718   125   13   112 33.6 3.6 30.0 4.61 20.3 72.15
2008   3 809   128   14   114 33.5 3.6 29.9 4.50 19.9 72.41
2009   3 899   131   14   117 33.4 3.6 29.9 4.41 19.3 72.61
2010   3 992   135   14   121 33.7 3.5 30.2 4.38 18.6 73.00
2011   4 088   137   14   123 33.4 3.5 29.9 4.27 18.1 73.24
2012   4 184   138   14   124 32.9 3.4 29.5 4.16 17.6 73.47
2013   4 282   140   14   125 32.5 3.3 29.2 4.08 17.2 74.03
2014   4 380   143   17   126 32.5 3.8 28.6 4.04 17.6 72.62
2015   4 485   147   15   132 32.7 3.3 29.4 4.05 16.4 74.41
2016   4 594   147   15   132 31.9 3.3 28.6 3.94 15.9 74.55
2017   4 701   146   15   131 31.0 3.3 27.7 3.81 15.4 74.83
2018   4 806   145   16   129 30.1 3.3 26.8 3.71 15.0 74.79
2019   4 910   145   16   129 29.5 3.2 26.2 3.64 14.6 75.24
2020   5 019   145   18   127 28.8 3.5 25.3 3.57 14.1 74.40
2021   5 133   145   20   126 28.2 3.8 24.4 3.50 13.8 73.47

Births and deaths

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate
2007 122,593 10,782 111,811
2008 126,323 11,337 114,986 4.4
2009 129,648 11,907 117,741
2010 4,048,403 138,809 10,810 127,999 34.3 2.7 31.6
2011 4,168,801 133,326 11,397 121,929 32.0 2.7 29.2 4.1
2012 4,293,313 131,632 11,782 119,850 30.7 2.7 27.9
2013 4,420,549 127,454 11,188 116,266 28.8 2.5 26.3
2014 4,550,368 128,073 13,390 114,683 28.1 2.9 25.2
2015 4,530,416 132,995 11,908 121,087 29.4 2.6 26.7
2016 4,632,025 138,238 12,202 126,036 29.8 2.6 27.2
2017 4,733,357 140,441 11,778 128,663 29.7 2.5 27.2 3.8
2018 4,854,013 143,334 12,452 130,882 29.5 2.6 27.0
2019 4,976,684 139,246 12,847 126,399 28.0 2.6 25.4
2020 5,101,152 132,291 14,106 118,185 25.9 2.8 23.2
2021 5,227,193

Population pyramids

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.XII.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
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.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

Source:

Palestinian Central Bureau

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

Source:

Life expectancy

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.

Life expectancy at birth in Palestine
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 World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Total 2,939,418 (July 2018 est.); 71.72% of the population is Arab (predominantly Sunni), 28.28% is Jewish (cf. Israel: Jewish 74%, Arab 21%, other 5%; and Gaza: Arab 99%)

  • Palestinian Arab 2,155,743 (July 2017 est.), 71.72%
  • Israeli Jew 850,481 (2016, 2020 est.), 28.28%
    • approximately 475,481 Israeli Jews thereof live in the West Bank (2020)
    • approximately 375,000 Israeli Jews thereof live in East Jerusalem (2016)

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)

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)
Other religious minorities include Palestinian Metawalis, Palestinian Druze and Palestinian Baha'is.

Languages

Arabic (Palestinian Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic), English (compulsory in schools, widely[quantify] spoken by Palestinians), and Hebrew (spoken by Israeli Jews in the West Bank, and spoken by many[quantify] 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 World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

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

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

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.

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
demonym: 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.).

Languages

Arabic (Palestinian Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic), Hebrew (spoken by many older Gaza 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


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