PA report: Palestinian population to outnumber the Jews by 2020

At the end of 2012 the estimated number of Palestinians in the world is 11.6 million, of whom 4.4 million are living in the Gaza Strip, West Bank & East Jerusalem & another 1.4 million living inside Israel.

By DPA

 

The number of Arabs and Jews in Israel and the occupied areas will be equal by 2016, but the number of Arabs will exceed that of Jews by 2020, a report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

Fatah supporters wave flags during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah

Fatah supporters waving flags during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 31, 2012. – Photo by Reuters

The estimated number of Palestinians in the world at the end of 2012 is 11.6 million, of whom 4.4 million are in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem and 1.4 million live inside Israel.

The PCBS said the number of Arabs in Israel and the occupied territories is estimated at 5.8 million at the end of 2012, compared to a predicted 6 million Jews.

It forecast that the number of Arabs and Jews will total around 6.5 million each by the end of 2016.

However, with an Arab fertility rate at 3.3 births inside Israel, and 4.4 million in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, compared to three births among Jews, the number of Arabs will exceed that of Jews by 2020, to reach 7.2 million Arabs compared to 6.9 million Jews.

The PCBS said 2.7 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and 1.7 million live in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s population at the end of 2012 stands at nearly 8 million, of whom 5.9 million are Jews and 1.4 million are Arabs.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/palestinians-to-outnumber-jewish-population-by-2020-says-pa-report-1.491122