Demographics of Palestine

The demographics of Palestine, as defined by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, includes general population information for all Palestinians, including those not residing in the Palestinian territories. As of mid-2025, there are about
15.2 million Palestinians in the world, 7.8 million of them residing outside historic Palestine. Of those within the territories that comprise their historic homeland, 5.61 million Palestinians reside in the 1967 Palestinian territories, and 1.9 million in the 1948 territories. Specific information on education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects is provided by the PCBS mainly for the Palestinian territories alone.
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 Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
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 the Judea and Samaria Area.

Overview

Population size and structure

Israeli estimates

The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics estimated 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 outside of East Jerusalem. 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, c. 13% is Jewish, other <1%.

US CIA estimates

The demographic statistics of The World Factbook the 2023 estimated population of Israel including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem is 9,043,387. Of this population:

Approximately 236,600 Israeli settlers lived in East Jerusalem
The split by ethnoreligious groups was Jewish 73.5%, Palestinian and other Arab non-Jews 21.1%, other 5.4%
By religion, the split was Jewish 73.5%, Muslim 18.1%, Christian 1.9%, Druze 1.6%, other 4.9%

Palestinian estimates

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories 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%.

UN estimates

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.

Key derived statistics

Out of 224 listed countries and territories, in 2018, the West Bank ranked 48th with a total fertility rate of 3.2, and the Gaza Strip ranked 31st with a TFR of 3.97 according to The World Factbook. In 2018, the West Bank had an estimated population growth rate of 1.81% and the Gaza Strip had a population growth rate of 2.25%.

Name	Area in km²	Pop. Census 1 Dec 2017	Pop. Estimate mid 2023	Pop. density mid 2023
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

Age structure

Census :

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	%
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

Source:

Vital statistics

UN estimates

	Mid-year population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Natural change	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality	Life expectancy
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

Registered births and deaths

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Natural change	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				4.4
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	4.1
2013	4,420,549	127,454	11,188	116,266	28.8	2.5	26.3	4.1
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	3.8
2019	4,976,684	139,246	12,847	126,399	28.0	2.6	25.4	3.8
2020	5,101,152	132,291	14,106	118,185	25.9	2.8	23.2
2021	5,227,193	141,092	16,755	124,337	27.0	3.2	23.8
2022	5,354,656	141,457	14,450	127,007	26.4	2.7	23.7

West Bank

Source:

Life expectancy

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.

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 Gaza Strip

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

Population

Current: 2,098,389
In 2023 approximately 2.1 million Palestinians lived in the Gaza Strip, around 1.6 million of them UN-registered refugees.

Age structure

0–14 years: 44.1%
15–24 years: 21.3%
25–54 years: 28.5%
55–64 years: 3.5%
65 years and over: 2.6%

Ethnic groups

Palestinian/Arab 98.7%

Religions

Sunni Muslim 98–99%, Arab Christians 0.2%, other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1.0%.

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew, English

Demographics of the West Bank

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

Population

Total 3,243,369 ; 71.72% of the population is Arab, 28.28% is Jewish

Palestinian Arab 2,155,743, 71.72%
Israeli Jew 850,481, 28.28%
* Approximately 475,481 Israeli Jews thereof live in the West Bank
* Approximately 375,000 Israeli Jews thereof live in East Jerusalem
Around 380 Samaritans

Ethnic groups

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

Religions

Muslim 80–85%
Jewish 12–14%
Christian 1.0–2.5%,
Other religious minorities include Palestinian Metawalis, Palestinian Druze, and Palestinian Baha'is.

Languages

Arabic, English, and Hebrew are commonly known.