Last updated on: 5/6/2010 | Author: ProCon.org

trouble shooting population stats

ARCHIVED WEBSITE

This site was archived on Aug. 3, 2021. The two-state solution is no longer the most popular solution among the jurisdictions involved. A reconsideration of the topic is possible in the future.

I. Background
II. Israel / Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914-2005) A. Graph B. Chart
III. Jerusalem: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Population (1910-2005) A. Graph B. Chart
IV. Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914-1946) A. Graph B. Chart
V. Israel: Arab / Jewish Population (1949 – 2006) A. Graph B. Chart
VI. West Bank & Gaza Strip: Arab Population (1950 – 2005) A. Graph B. Chart
VII. By Area: Arab / Jewish Population (2006) A. Graph B. Chart
VIII. Population Projections: Israel / Palestine Population (2020-2050) A. Graph B. Chart

I. Background:

The demographic composition of the Israel-Palestine region has played a major role in the events, policies and debates that have shaped the area. Early on, population figures were used to establish or deny the legitimacy of particular claims. As Ami Isseroff, Director of the MidEastWeb, notes “the Zionist claim that Palestine was ‘a land without a people’ is challenged by pro Palestinian historians who cite census figures showing a substantial Palestinian-Arab population by 1914. Zionists note that most of this increase seems to have occurred after 1880, when Jews began developing Palestine.”

In addition to these claims, population statistics were used to determine the partition plans of 1937 and 1947, as well as British immigration policy in 1939. After 1967, demographics influenced settlement policy (especially in East Jerusalem), and during the 1990s it determined the areas to be turned over to the Palestinian Authority. Other relevant considerations include the demographic impact of war (especially the wars of 1948 and 1967) and of Palestinian refugee Right of Return upon the state of Israel. Demographics will likely play a role in any future peace talks and is currently a part of Sharon’s motivation to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

History: The areas known today as Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, were in 1922 designated under the British Mandate as a single territorial unit called Palestine.

Prior to British rule, the area existed as several districts within the Ottoman Empire. (Only the inhabitants from the Ottoman districts that would become British Mandate Palestine were included in the population figures presented below).

In 1948, the British withdrew, Israel declared statehood, and the first Arab-Israeli war broke out. The armistice lines established between Israel and Jordan, and Israel and Egypt formed the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively. These territorial divisions remained until the 1967 War when Israel came to control both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Since 1967, population figures for Israel have included the residents of East Jerusalem as well as the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (until their removal in Aug. 2005). The population of the Golan Heights was included in the Israeli figures starting in 1982. See our complete history of these developments as told through maps.

Demographic Divisions: We have divided the population into two main ethnic groups: Jews and Arabs. For Jerusalem however, we used religious rather than ethnic designations because of the religious significance of the city to Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Demographic Display: The demographic information below is displayed in graphs and charts. Each graph derives from the data in its corresponding chart. The accompanying maps designate the territory of focus.

Accuracy: The population statistics below are approximations. Older data is generally seen as less accurate than more modern population figures.

TOP

II. Israel / Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914-2005)
A. Graph

Historic Divisions of Israel / Palestine

II. Israel / Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914-2005)
B. Chart

Year

Jews

Arabs

Total

% of Jews to Total
1914 60,000 731,000 791,000 7.585%
1922 83,790 668,258 752,048 11.141%
1931 174,606 858,708 1,033,314 16.897%
1941 474,102 1,111,398 1,585,500 29.902%
1950 1,203,000 1,172,100 2,375,100 50.650%
1960 1,911,300 1,340,100 3,251,400 58.783%
1970 * 2,582,000 1,045,000 3,627,000 71.188%
1980 3,282,700 2,100,000 5,382,700 60.986%
1995 4,495,100 3,506,900 8,002,000 56.173%
2005 5,275,700 5,139,100 10,414,800 50.656%
Sources & Notes:
Sources by Year:
1914 Justin McCarthy The Population of Palestine, 1990
1922 & 1931 British Census (Census conducted by the British Mandate Government.)
1941 Esco Foundation Palestine: A Study of Jewish, Arab, and British Policies Vol. 1, p.46, Yale University Press, 1947

1950-2005

 Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics “Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007: Population, by Religion,” ICBS website accessed on May 6, 2010

Notes:

*

 Decrease in the Arab population between 1960 and 1970 due to Arab refugees from the 1967 War.

 

 

IV. Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914 – 1946)
A. Graph

 

IV. Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914 – 1946)
B. Chart

Year

Jews

Arabs

Total

% of Jews to Total
1914 60,000 731,000 791,000 7.585%
1918* 59,000 688,000 747,000 7.898%
1922 83,790 668,258 752,048 11.141%
1931 174,606 858,708 1,033,314 16.897%
1941 474,102 1,111,398 1,585,500 29.902%
1944 554,000 1,211,000 1,765,000 31.388%
1946 608,225 1,237,334 1,845,559 32.956%
Sources & Notes:
Sources by Year:
1914 – 1918 Justin McCarthy The Population of Palestine, 1990
1922 & 1931 British Census (Census conducted by the British Mandate Government.)
1941 Esco Foundation Palestine: A Study of Jewish, Arab, and British Policies Vol. 1, p.46, Yale University Press, 1947
1944 Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry Chapter IV: Population, April 20, 1946
1946 United Nations General Assembly, A/364, “UNSCOP Report to the General Assembly,” September 3, 1947
Notes:
* Decrease in population due to WWI and famine.

 

V. Israel: Arab / Jewish Population (1949 – 2006)
A. Graph

 

V. Israel: Arab / Jewish Population (1949 – 2006)
B. Chart

Year

Jews

Arabs

Total

% of Jews to Total
1949 1,013,900 159,100 1,173,000 86.436%
1967* 2,383,600 392,700 2,776,300 85.855%
1973 2,845,000 493,200 3,338,200 85.225%
1983** 3,412,500 706,100 4,118,600 82.855%
1990 3,946,700 875,000 4,821,700 81.853%
1995*** 4,522,300 1,004,900 5,527,200 81.819%
2000**** 4,955,400 1,188,700 6,144,100 80.652%
2006**** 5,393,400 1,413,300 6,806,700 79.237%
Sources & Notes:
Sources by Year:
1949 – 2006 Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics “Statistical Abstract of Israel, No. 55,” 2004, and “Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007: Population by district, sub-district and religion,” ICBS website accessed on Sep. 20, 2007
Notes:
* Starting in 1967, population figures include residents of East Jerusalem and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
** Starting in 1982, population figures include residents of the Golan Heights.
*** Starting in 1995, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) defined “Arabs” as a group including Druze, Arab Christians, and Muslims.
**** Since the year 2000 the ICBS also included 2,700 Lebanese not classified by religion.

 

 

VI. West Bank & Gaza Strip: Arab Population (1948-2005)
A. Graph

 

VI. West Bank & Gaza Strip: Arab Population (1948-2005)
B. Chart

Year

West Bank

Gaza Strip
1948 462,100 82,500
1950* 765,000 240,000
1960 799,000 302,000
1970** 677,000 368,000
1980 964,000 497,000
1985 1,044,000 532,288
1990 1,254,506 642,814
1995 1,626,689 875,231
2000 2,020,298 1,132,063
2005 2,385,615 1,376,289
Sources & Notes:
Sources by Year:
1948 Wael R. Ennab “Population and Demographic Developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip unitl 1990,” Study prepared for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 28 June 1994
1950 – 1980 Justin McCarthy “Palestine’s Population During the Ottoman and the British Mandate Periods,” 2001
1985 – 2005 U.S. Census Bureau “International Data Base (IDB), Country Summary: West Bank and Gaza Strip,” accessed online Sep. 19, 2007
Notes:
* Increase in the Arab population due to Palestinian Refugees from the territory of the new state of Israel to the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the first Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949)
** Decrease in the Arab population between 1960 and 1970 due to Arab refugees from the 1967 War.

 

TOP

 

VII. By Area: Arab / Jewish Population (2006)
A. Graphs

VII. By Area: Arab / Jewish Population (2006)
B. Chart
Israel West Bank Gaza Strip Total
Jews 5,137,8001 255,6001 01 5,393,4001
Arabs 1,439,7001 2,460,4922 1,428,7572 5,328,949

 


Sources & Notes:
1 Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics “Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007: Population by district, sub-district and religion,” ICBS website accessed on Sep. 20, 2007
Starting in 1995, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) defined “Arabs” as a group including, Druze, Arab Christians, and Muslims. Since the year 2000 the CBS also included 2,700 Lebanese not classified by religion.
2 U.S. Census Bureau “International Data Base (IDB), Country Summary: West Bank and Gaza Strip,” accessed online Sep. 19, 2007

TOP

VIII. Population Projections: Israel / Palestine (2020-2050)
A. Graphs

1. ISRAEL – ARABS / JEWS (2020 PROJECTION)

2. ISRAEL – ARABS / JEWS (2050 PROJECTION)

Compare to 1949-2006 statistics, see V.A. above

3. ISRAEL, WEST BANK, & GAZA (2025 PROJECTION)

4. ISRAEL, WEST BANK, & GAZA (2050 PROJECTION)

Compare to 2006 statistics, see VII.A. above

VIII. Population Projections: Israel / Palestine (2020-2050)
B. Charts

1. ISRAEL – ARABS / JEWS (2020 & 2050 PROJECTIONS)

Jews Arabs
2020 6,697,000 1,976,000
2050 8,780,000 3,121,000

 

2. ISRAEL, WEST BANK, & GAZA (2025 & 2050 PROJECTIONS)

Israel West Bank & Gaza

2025 8.8 million 6.2 million
2050 11.2 million 9.3 million

 

 

Sources & Notes:

Sources:

*Graphs 1 & 2
Chart 1

Sergio DellaPergola, PhD, “Demography in Israel/Palestine: Trends, Prospects, Policy Implications,” paper presented at the XXIV International Union for the Scientific Study of Population General Population Conference, Aug. 2001

*Graphs 3 & 4
Chart 2

Evgenia Bystrov, MA, and Arnon Soffer, PhD, “Israel: Demography and Density 2007-2020,” Reuven Chaikin Chair in Geostrategy University of Haifa, www.haifa.ac.il, May 2008

Notes:

*

 The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics in its “Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009” available on the ICBS website (accessed Dec. 2, 2009) projected that Israel’s population in 2025 would consist of 6,506,900 (70%) Jews, 2,320,000 (25%) Arabs, and 434,800 (5%) others.

*

 Bennett Zimmerman, Roberta Seid, and Michael Wise in their “Forecast for Israel and West Bank 2025” presented at the 6th Herzliya Conference in Herzliya, Israel on Jan. 23, 2006 projected that Israel would have 7.51 million Jews and 2.2 million Arabs in 2025.

*

 Figures from the two sources above were not represented graphically because they are relatively similar to the data already presented in section VIII.A. above and because they projected to 2025 only vs. 2020 and 2050.