RAMALLAH, October 3, 2016 (WAFA) - Marking Arab Housing Day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said on Monday that the population of Palestine reached 4.82 million people in mid 2016, 73.9% of them living in urban areas, 16.6% in rural areas and 9.5% in refugee camps.

It said that population density in 2016 was estimated at 800 persons per square kilometer.

The results of the Local Communities Survey 2015, said the PCBS, showed that there were 407 local authorities in Palestine: 374 in the West Bank, and 33 local authorities in Gaza Strip. They were distributed into 128 municipalities, 242 village councils, 10 local councils and 27 camps.

In addition, 225 local authorities had approved structural plans, while 160 local authorities had their structural plans under preparation.

The report said 80.9% of households live in owned housing units, with 81.4% in urban areas and 83.0% in rural areas, while 73.0% of households in camps live in owned housing units

In addition, 7.8% of households live in rented housing units, 9.0% in urban, 3.8% in rural and 6.4% of households in camps.

The results showed that the average housing density in Palestine in 2015 was 1.7 persons per room: 1.7 in urban areas, 1.6 in the rural areas and 1.9 in refugee camps. Around 13.2% of households in Palestine live in housing units with three persons or more per room: 12.8% of households in urban areas, 10.9% in rural areas and 21.1% in refugee camps.

In 2015 the average number of rooms per housing unit in Palestine was 3.4 and average area of housing unit was 126.2 square meters.

The results of 2015 showed that 94.9% of households in Palestine live in housing units with access to an improved water source and 54% are connected to wastewater networks.

M.A.