The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that the number of Palestinians around the world reached 14.8 million people by mid-2024.

The census stated in a press release on the occasion of World Population Day that the number of Palestinians in the State of Palestine reached about 5.61 million, including 2.85 million males and 2.76 million females, 1.8 million in the 1948 territories, and about 7.4 million in the diaspora, including 6.3 million in Arab countries.

The demographic reality in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the occupation’s aggression:

Data indicate that on the eve of the occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, about 2.2 million Palestinians were residing in the Strip on an area of 365 km2, representing about 41% of the population of the State of Palestine, most of whom were refugees (66% of whom were refugees) and were displaced. of their villages and cities following the 1948 war. The population of the Strip is distributed among 5 Palestinian governorates that make up the Gaza Strip. According to mid-2023 estimates, about 1.2 Palestinians reside in the governorates of North Gaza (Jabalia) and Gaza, (what is known as the North Gaza Valley), while the remaining million reside in Khan Yunis, Deir al-Balah and Rafah governorates.

The age structure of the population in the Gaza Strip indicates that it is a young society par excellence, as the percentage of individuals under the age of 18 years is about 47% of the population, and the percentage of individuals under the age of 30 years is about 68%, while the percentage of the elderly 65 years and over constitutes only about 3%. Accordingly, the median age of the population of the Gaza Strip (the age that divides the population’s ages into two equal halves) has reached about 19.5 years, meaning that half of the population is below this age and the other half is above it.

More than 39 thousand martyrs, including 16 thousand children and 11 thousand women

Since the start of the aggression, about 39,000 Palestinians, constituting 1.7% of the total population of the Gaza Strip, have been martyred, including about 16,000 children and about 11,000 women, in addition to about 10,000 missing persons.

The number of martyrs as a result of the famine reached 34, and data indicated the martyrdom of 500 medical personnel, in addition to the arrest of 310 medical personnel, and there are about 3,500 children at risk of death due to malnutrition and lack of food. While the number of wounded reached about 88 thousand, 70% of whom were women and children, while the number of martyrs in the West Bank reached 570 martyrs.

10,000 cancer patients face the risk of death and are in need of treatment, and 3,000 patients with various diseases need treatment abroad. Infectious diseases have also spread among the displaced and 1,660,942 have been infected, of whom 71,338 displaced people have been infected with viral hepatitis, in addition to 33 hospitals, 64 health centers and 161 being taken out of service. Health institution and 131 ambulances destroyed.

On the other hand, the occupation completely destroyed 150,000 housing units, 80,000 housing units became uninhabitable, 200,000 housing units were partially destroyed, and 195 government headquarters, in addition to destroying 206 archaeological and heritage sites.

Based on these data, the estimated growth rate in the sector for the year 2023 will decrease from about 2.7% according to the agency’s estimates for the year 2023 to only about 1% during the year 2024, specifically after the middle of the year, as birth and childbirth rates will decrease significantly as a result of couples’ tendency to not have children due to Due to the prevailing conditions, fear for the health of mothers and children, and the decline in the number of new marriages during the Israeli occupation aggression to very low levels.

It is also expected that the age and gender structure of the population will be directly affected as a result of the Israeli army’s deliberate targeting of specific groups of the population, such as children and youth, which leads to a distortion in the shape of the population pyramid, especially at its base, knowing that there is a medium and long-term impact that is expected to affect the age structure of the population, represented by a decrease in the number of births over the years. Coming people who represent the basic base of the population pyramid as a result of citing and targeting the age group that gives birth or that is expected to contribute to the birth of children in the coming years.

More than 8 thousand martyred students

The number of martyred students enrolled in schools in Palestine reached 8,294 male and female martyrs, including more than 8,227 male and female martyrs in the Gaza Strip and 67 male and female martyrs in the West Bank.

While the number of wounded students enrolled in schools in Palestine reached 13,582 wounded men and women, with 13,200 wounded men and women in the Gaza Strip and 382 wounded men and women in the West Bank.

Regarding the detained students enrolled in schools, 178 students were arrested, all of them from the West Bank. While the number of martyrs since the beginning of the occupation aggression among students enrolled in higher education institutions in Palestine reached 647 male and female students, 613 male and female students in the Gaza Strip and 34 male and female students in the West Bank.

While the number of wounded reached 1,312 male and female, 1,189 male and female in the Gaza Strip and 123 male and female in the West Bank. More than 179 male and female students enrolled in West Bank universities were also arrested.

497 martyrs who work in schools and higher education institutions

The number of martyred teachers and school administrators in Palestine reached 497 male and female martyrs, of whom 391 were martyred during raids on the Gaza Strip, and one martyr in the West Bank.

While 105 male and female workers working in higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip rose as a result of the ongoing air strikes. While the number of wounded teachers and administrators in schools in Palestine reached 3,426 wounded men and women, including 3,415 in the Gaza Strip and 11 wounded men and women in the West Bank. Meanwhile, more than 111 teachers and administrators were arrested in West Bank schools.

708 thousand students in Gaza were deprived of their right to school and university education

As a natural reaction to the continuous bombing and violent raids on the Gaza Strip, the death toll of students and teachers, and the destruction of the infrastructure of a large number of schools and universities, where 93 schools and universities were completely destroyed and 330 schools and universities partially, with all schools and universities in the Gaza Strip being disabled since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression and deprivation. About 620 thousand male and female students have the right to school education. About 88,000 male and female students were also deprived of going to their universities, while about 39,000 male and female students were deprived of their right to take the high school certificate exam in the Gaza Strip this year.

A water crisis and hunger threaten the lives of residents in the Gaza Strip

The residents of the Gaza Strip lack the basics of life, including housing, food and water. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) indicated that at least 70% of the population of the Gaza Strip are at risk of famine, which means that the population of the Gaza Strip is suffering from catastrophic hunger, and this indicates that the Gaza Strip is now considered one of the most famished areas. In the world.

Data indicate that 90% of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months and pregnant women face a severe food shortage. The Gaza Strip also suffers from a severe crisis in access to water, as under normal conditions in the period before the seventh of... In October, the average per capita consumption of water in the Gaza Strip during the year 2022 was estimated at about 84.6 liters/person/day, and with the outbreak of the Israeli occupation aggression, estimates indicated that the residents of the Gaza Strip could only access between 3-15 liters/person/day.