RAMALLAH, June 19, 2011 (WAFA) - Unemployment rate of Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian Territory in 2010 was 29.5% compared to 20.5% for non-refugees, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in a statistical review of the current status of Palestinian refugees released on Sunday, marking the eve of the International Day of  Refugees.

According to UNRWA records, registered Palestinian refugees totaled 4.8 million in 2010: 41.6% in Jordan, 23.2% in the Gaza Strip, 16.4% in the West Bank, 9.9% in Syria and 8.9% in Lebanon.

In the Palestinian Territory, refugees represent 43.4% of  the total population in 2011, with 29.7% of them in the West Bank and 67.3% in the Gaza Strip.

41.8% of all refugees are under the age of 15 and 3.4% are aged 65 and above, in comparison to 40.9% and 2.3% for non-refugees, respectively.

Palestinian refugees of 15 years of age and above had an illiteracy rate of 4.8% in 2010, compared to 5.2% for non-refugees.

The drop-out rate for refugee children of 6 years old and above from schools in the Palestinian Territory reached 20.3% in 2010: 21.2% for males and 19.5% for females, in comparison to 25.0% for non-refugees: 27.0% for males and 22.9% for females.

The total fertility rate for refugees in the Palestinian Territory was 4.2 births per woman in 2010.

In 2010, 32.1% of households in refugee camps in the Palestinian Territory were poor. 86% of Palestinian refugees owned their housing units in the Palestinian Territory in 2010, compared to 82.0% for non-refugees.

15.9% of refugee households owned private cars in the Palestinian Territory in 2010, compared to 25.6% for non-refugees.

R.Q./F.J.