Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics: Palestinian population 'youth bulge'

Ma'an- As the world marks International Population Day, Palestinian statisticians released updated population estimates showing Palestinians are mostly young and live in urban areas.

At mid-2011, there were 2.58 million Palestinians in West Bank and 1.59 million in Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics said Sunday. Overall, Palestinians numbered 2.12 million males and 2.05 million females.

Palestinians under 14 years are 40.8 percent of the total population, the agency said.

Birth rates are declining, PCBS said, with projections predicting a drop from 32.8 births per thousand people in 2011 to 31.9 births in 2015. The bureau also estimated a decline in death rates, from 4.0 deaths per thousand in 2011 to 3.6 deaths in 2015, to reflect improvements in access to health services.

Population density remained particularly high in the Gaza Strip, at 4,353 persons per kilometer squared, in contrast to 456 persons per kilometer squared in the West Bank.

Palestinians are overwhelmingly an urban population, PCBS noted, with 73.8 percent residing in cities, 16.9 percent in rural areas and 9.3 percent in refugee camps.

Household size has declined slightly, PCBS added, from 6.4 persons per household in 1997 to 5.9 persons in 2010. The statistics body noted that 4 percent of households are headed by women.

The figures released by PCBS also showed latest employment trends.
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Over one-fifth (21.7%) labor market participants were unemployed in the first quarter of 2011, PCBS said.

Female participants in the labor force remains low at 14.7 percent, in contrast to 66.7 percent for males.

The statistics agency also noted that female illiteracy was three times higher than figures for men, with 7.8 percent of females 15 years and above illiterate, compared to 2.4 percent for males.

Demographic figures were estimated for mid-2011 based on the 2007 Housing and Establishment Census, PCBS said.