RAMALLAH, September 29, 2016 (WAFA) - The Palestinian society is considered a young society where the percentage of children is high and the percentage of the elderly is relatively low, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in a report published on Thursday.

By mid-year 2016, the percentage of the elderly aged 60 and over reached 4.5% of the population in Palestine (5% in West Bank and 3.8% in Gaza Strip), said the report marking World Elderly Day.

Even though, the percentage of the elderly will be increasing during the coming years in Palestine, their percentage will stay relatively low not exceeding 4.5% during the current decade, it said. The elderly percentage may start increasing after year 2020.

Males over 60 make 4.1% of the total and females 5%.

In addition, 17% of households are headed by an elderly person according to labor force survey, with 18% in West Bank and 15% in Gaza Strip.

The data indicates that the average size of the households headed by an elderly person is relatively small  and reached 3.2 individuals (2.9  in West Bank and 3.9 in Gaza Strip), against 5.9 for the households not headed by an elderly person.

Palestine witnessed improvement in life expectancy since the beginning of the past two decades, said the PCBS.

Life expectancy increased for both males and females from 67 years in 1992 to 72.1 years for males and 75.2 years for females by mid-year 2016.

Life expectancy is expected to increase during the coming years to reach 72.8 years for males and 75.7 years for females by the year 2020.

M.A.