RAMALLAH, May 12, 2026 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) has issued a press release on the 78th annual commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, on 15/05/2026, noting that the number of Palestinians reached 15.5 million worldwide upon the 78th Annual Commemoration of the Nakba.
There are 15.5 million Palestinians around the world at the end of 2025, including 7.4 million Palestinians in historic Palestine and 8.1 million in the diaspora (of them 6.8 million in Arab countries).
Estimated Number of Palestinians in Historic Palestine, Selected Years
Out of the total number of Palestinians, there are approximately 5.6 million living in the State of Palestine by the end of 2025 (3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in Gaza Strip).
Number of Palestinians in the State of Palestine, Selected Years (1997-2025)
Around Two million Palestinians were forcibly displaced in Gaza Strip, along with 40 Thousand in the West Bank, since October 7th, 2023
Residents of Gaza Strip have been repeatedly forced to flee their homes under duress, where they lost their homes and became homeless, living in tents and schools, trapped between walls of poverty and war. Out of approximately 2.2 million Palestinians who lived in Gaza Strip on the eve of the Israeli occupation aggression, about two million have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Yet, Palestinians in the West Bank had not been spared from such forced displacement, where 40 thousand Palestinians living in refugee camps of the northern West Bank were displaced far from their camps due to the repeated and continuous Israeli aggression.
Israeli Settlements: Continuous Expansion
By the end of 2025, there were 645 Israeli occupation sites and military bases in the West Bank, including 151 settlements and 350 settlement outposts (89 of them are pastoral outposts created specifically within the Israeli policy to tighten and strangle the lives of Palestinian farmers in order to take control over their lands and then illegally make them leave their agricultural lands and deprive them of those lands), as well as 144 sites classified as other sites which include (industrial, tourists, service areas and Israeli army bases).
Number of Settlers in Israeli Settlements in the West Bank by Region, 1990-2024
As for the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, it reached 778,567 settlers by the end of 2024. Accordingly, data show that around 42.8% of settlers live in Jerusalem Governorate, where their number reached about 333,580, of whom 243,716 settlers live in East Jerusalem (J1) (which includes those parts of Jerusalem that were annexed by the Israeli occupation in 1967).
In a sense, the proportion of Israeli settlers to the Palestinian population in the West Bank is about 23.2 Israeli settlers per 100 Palestinians, while the highest percentage was in Jerusalem Governorate, at approximately 65.7 settlers per 100 Palestinians.
In 2025: The Israeli Occupation Authorities Confiscate 5,571 Dunums
The Israeli occupation is still imposing its control over more Palestinian lands in the West Bank under various pretexts and names, as the confiscated areas during 2025 reached more than 5,571 dunums. During 2025, data indicate that 94 sequestration orders were issued for approximately 2,609 dunums, 3 expropriation orders for approximately 1,731 dunums, and 3 orders declaring state land for approximately 1,231 dunums.
Furthermore, the Israeli occupation authorities exploit Palestinian agricultural lands. The area exploited by settlers increased by more than 245% between 2000 and 2025. This is part of the systematic and ongoing policy to control all Palestinian lands and deprive the Palestinians of benefiting from their natural resources within the annexation policy pursued by the Israeli occupation authorities in the West Bank.
More than 61,000 Attacks were Carried out by the Israeli Occupation Authorities and Settlers in the West Bank during the Years 2022-2025
These attacks also resulted in the uprooting, damage, and bulldozing of more than 81,500 trees (mostly ancient olive trees).
During the first three months of this year, more than 6,000 attacks by the Israeli occupation authorities and settlers against Palestinian citizens, property, and religious sites were documented.
Approximately 900 Military Checkpoints in the West Bank
The Israeli occupation authorities employ arbitrary measures, including the deployment of checkpoints and gates at the entrances to most Palestinian localities, amounting to around 900. In a sense, such measures obstruct the movement of Palestinians between localities and cities. Besides, Palestinians are denied access to tens of thousands of dunums of agricultural land and hundreds of thousands of dunums of grazing land, negatively impacting Palestinian food security amidst the already difficult economic conditions faced by the Palestinian people.
The Israeli Occupation Controls more than 85% of Palestinian Groundwater.
Official data indicate that the Israeli occupation controls more than 85% of Palestinian groundwater resources by controlling well drilling, preventing the development of new wells, and imposing strict restrictions on the rehabilitation of existing wells. This is done in parallel with the intensive exploitation of these aquifers for the benefit of Israeli settlements. As for surface water, Palestinians are almost completely deprived of their right to the water of the Jordan River, despite being a riparian state. Israel has unilaterally seized control of the river's course and its economic resources, as well as the Dead Sea, where it has prevented any actual Palestinian access to such resources since 1967.
A Sharp Decline in Water Availability below the Minimum Humanitarian Standard in Gaza Strip
In Gaza Strip, the water situation is even more acute and complex. Estimates indicate that the average water supply in some areas of Gaza Strip has dropped to 3-5 liters per person per day during periods of aggression, a level far below the minimum humanitarian standard of 15 liters per person per day required for survival according to international humanitarian standards.
More than 198 Thousand Buildings were Damaged; of them 102 Thousand were Completely Destroyed in Gaza Strip
Since the Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza Strip on October 7th, 2023, the Israeli occupation has destroyed more than 102,000 buildings. The number of completely or partially destroyed housing units is estimated at no less than 330,000 housing units, which together constitute more than 70% of the housing units in Gaza Strip, in addition to the destruction of schools, universities, hospitals, mosques, churches, and government headquarters, as well as thousands of buildings and economic establishments being destroyed and all aspects of infrastructure, including streets, water and electricity lines, sewage lines, and agricultural land were destroyed, making Gaza Strip an uninhabitable place.
Furthermore, the Israeli occupation demolished and partially destroyed approximately 1,400 buildings in the West Bank in 2025, including 258 buildings and establishments in Jerusalem Governorate (104 forced self-demolitions in Jerusalem, in which Palestinians are forced to demolish their own home).
Forced Self-Demolitions Operations in Jerusalem Governorate 2010-2025
As for the demolition orders issued against Palestinian establishments under various pretexts, the Israeli occupation issued 991 demolition orders during 2025 as part of its policy of displacing the Palestinian people by issuing hundreds of demolition orders annually against Palestinian establishments.
Number of Demolition Cases and Notices Issued by the Israeli Occupation in the West Bank 2022-2025
Gaza Strip throughout a Century: Population Density that Compresses Life into Suffocation
In Gaza Strip, the yellow area covered 53% of its total area (representing a military buffer zone established after the ceasefire agreement in October 2025 and expanded by the Israeli occupation to reach about 64%), which caused the Palestinian population to be trapped in a limited area of only 36% of Gaza Strip.
Population density in Gaza Strip (individual/km2) (selected years) 1931-2025
The time series for Gaza Strip reflects a sharp demographic shift, as the population rose from about 80,000 people in 1931 with a density of 219 individuals/km2 to more than 2.2 million people in 2023 with a density exceeding 6,000 individuals/km2, driven by the repercussions of the Nakba, the flow of refugees, and the high natural growth. Over the decades, the population increase continued under a fixed area not exceeding 365 km2, making Gaza Strip one of the most densely populated regions in the world, reaching its highest levels during the Israeli aggression of more than 35,000 individuals/km2.
The Number of Martyrs is the Highest since the Nakba:
Data since October 7th, 2023, reflect a very high number of martyrs, constituting more than 50% of those martyred since the Nakba. The total number of martyrs from October 7th, 2023, until the end of April 2026 amounted to more than 73,761, with the number of martyrs in Gaza Strip reaching 72,601 martyrs (including more than 20,413 children, 12,524 women, and 3,110 medical, civil defense, press, and education staff). The number of martyrs in the West Bank reached 1,160 during the same period (including more than 100 martyrs in Jerusalem Governorate).
Number of Martyrs in Jerusalem Governorate, 2001-2025
Confiscation of Jerusalemite Identities is a New Occupation Tool for Displacement since the Nakba
The total number of Jerusalem ID cards confiscated during the period from 1967 to 2024 amounted to approximately 14,869 Jerusalem IDs. It is estimated that the number of Jerusalemite households affected by the confiscation of ID cards during the period 1967–2024 reached approximately 13,000 households, and about 65,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites were deprived of entering Jerusalem due to the confiscation of the Jerusalemite ID card of the head of the household by the Israeli occupation.
Will and Resilience Indicators: The Palestinian Society is Young and Well-Educated
The Palestinian society is a young society, where the percentage of individuals in the age group (0-17 years) reached 43% in 2025, while the median age reached 21.6.
The literacy rate for individuals (15 years and above) reached 97.9% in 2023, which is higher than the Global and Arab averages (88% and 89%, respectively).
The net enrollment rate at the elementary stage in the West Bank reached approximately 100% in the scholastic year 2024/2025, the same rate as in Gaza Strip before October 7th, 2023.
67.8% of those enrolled in higher education are females.
The percentage of individuals (10 years and above) who use the Internet during 2023 in Palestine reached 86.6%.
The number of physicians in Palestine reached 28 per 10,000 people in 2022, exceeding the Global average of about 17.
The volume of nursing staff in Palestine reached about 4.4 nurses per 1,000 people, a figure that far exceeds the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization of 2.5 health workers per 1,000 people.
The connection rate to the public electricity grid in the West Bank is 99.9%, and 8% of the electrical energy available in Palestine is renewable.
25.8% of agricultural holders hold higher education certificates.
K.T
