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.