PALESTINIANS 11.8 MILLION WORLDWIDE: STATISTICS BUREAU

Ramallah, 30 Shafar 1435/2 January 20134 (MINA) –The projected number of Palestinians in the world increased to reach 11.8 million at the end of 2013, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Tuesday.

There are 4.5 million Palestinians in the Palestinian Territory, 1.4 million in Israel, 5.2 million in Arab countries and around 665,000 in foreign countries, it said in a yearend report on the status of Palestinians.

It said that around 2.8 million are in the West Bank and 1.7 million in the Gaza Strip at the end of 2013.

Palestinian refugees make up 44.2% of the Palestinian population in Palestine; 41.2% of them in the West Bank and 58.8% in Gaza Strip, said the report.

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The report indicated a decrease in the average household size in the Palestinian Territory which reached 5.3 persons in 2012 compared with 6.4 in 1997: 5.1 persons in the West Bank and 6.0 persons in the Gaza Strip.

PCBS said the crude birth rate is 32.6 births for every 1000 of population: 29.7 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 3.8 deaths for every 1000 of population: in the West Bank the figure is 4.0 compared to 3.6 in Gaza Strip. The rate is expected to decline to 3.6 in 2015.

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The total fertility rate for Palestinians living is Jordan is 3.3 births in 2010 compared to 2.5 in Syria in 2010 and 3.8 in Lebanon in 2011, added the report.

Higher fertility rate among Palestinians in Israel than among Jews

The number of Palestinians living in Israel is 1.4 million, of whom about 36.1% are aged less than 15 years compared to 4.1% aged 65 years and above; the average Palestinian household size is 4.8 persons.

The total fertility rate in 2012 among Palestinians living in Israel was 3.3 births compared to 3.0 births among Jews, whereas the crude birth rate of Palestinians in Israel exceeded 24.8 births for every 1000 of the population.

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PCBS indicated that the number of Palestinians in historical Palestine totaled 5.9 million at the end of 2013, whereas the number of Jews living in historical Palestine totaled 6.0 million at the end of 2012.

Based on estimates of the Israeli Department of Statistics for 2012, the number of Palestinians and Jews will total about 6.4 million each by the end of 2016, provided that current growth rates remain constant. However, the number of Palestinians in historical Palestine will total 7.2 million compared to 6.9 million Jews by the end of 2020, said the report. (T/P02/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)