Number of Palestinians in World is 11.22 Million, says PCBS

RAMALLAH, December 26, 2011 (WAFA) – The projected number of Palestinians in the world increased to reach 11.22 million at the end of 2011, Monday said a report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

There are 4.23 million Palestinians in the Palestinian Territory, 1.37 million in Israel, 4.99 million in Arab countries and around 636,000 in other countries, said the report.



Around 4.2 million Palestinians live in the Palestinian Territory, around 2.6 million in the West Bank and 1.6 million in the Gaza Strip at the end of 2011.



PCBS said that of every 100 persons in the Palestinian Territory, about 44 are refugees: 42 per 100 in the West Bank and 58 per 100 in the Gaza Strip. The total fertility rate declined in 2010 to 4.2 births compared with 6 births in 1997. The rate in the Gaza Strip in 2010 was 4.9 births compared to 3.8 births in the West Bank, which have been stable for the past few years with no significant changes.


The report indicated a decrease in the average household size in the Palestinian Territory which reached 5.8 persons in 2011 compared with 6.4 in 1997: 5.6 persons in the West Bank and 6.3 persons in the Gaza Strip.

PCBS said the crude birth rate is 32.8 births for every 1000 of population: 30.1 in the West Bank compared to 37.1 in Gaza Strip. The rate is expected to decline to 31.9 in 2015.



The crude death rate is 4.0 deaths for every 1000 of population: in the West Bank the figure is 4.1 compared to 3.9 in Gaza Strip. The rate is expected to decline to 3.6 in 2015.



The total fertility rate for Palestinians living is Jordan is 3.3 births compared to 2.5 in Syria and 3.2 in Lebanon, added the report.



The number of Palestinians living in Israel is 1.37 million, of whom about 37.5% are aged less than 15 years compared to 3.9% aged 65 years and above; the average Palestinian household size is 4.8 persons.


The total fertility rate in 2010 among Palestinians living in Israel was 3.5 births compared to 3.0 births among Jews, whereas the crude birth rate of Palestinians in Israel exceeded 26.2 births for every 1000 of the population.



PCBS indicated that the number of Palestinians in historical Palestine totaled 5.6 million at the end of 2011, whereas the number of Jews living in historical Palestine totaled 5.8 million.



“Based on estimates of the Israeli Department of Statistics for 2010, the number of Palestinians and Jews will total about 6.3 million each by the end of 2015, provided current growth rates remain the same. However, the number of Palestinians in historical Palestine will total 7.2 million compared to 6.8 million Jews by the end of 2020,” said the report.



R.Q./F.J.