Population:
1,836,713(July 2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:152
Nationality:
Ethnic groups:
Languages:
Arabic, Hebrew(spoken by many Palestinians), English(widely understood)
Religions:
Muslim98.0 - 99.0% (predominantly Sunni), Christian<1.0%, other, unaffiliated, unspecified<1.0% (2012 est.)
note: dismantlement of Israeli settlements was completed in September 2005; Gaza has had no Jewish population since then
Age structure:
0-14 years:44.1%(male 415,746 /female 394,195)
15-24 years:21.34%(male 197,797 /female 194,112)
25-54 years:28.5%(male 256,103 /female 267,285)
55-64 years:3.48%(male 33,413 /female 30,592)
65 years and over:2.58%(male 24,863 /female 22,607)(2018 est.)
population pyramid:![\"population](\"/attachments/images/thumb/GZ_popgraph.bmp?1538604950\")
Middle East
:: Gaza StripPrint This is the population pyramid for Gaza Strip. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio:75.8(2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio:70.5(2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio:5.2(2015 est.)
potential support ratio:19.1(2015 est.)
note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Median age:
Population growth rate:
2.25%(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:35
Birth rate:
30.5 births/1,000 population(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:34
Death rate:
3 deaths/1,000 population(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:222
Net migration rate:
-5.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world:191
Population distribution:
population concentrated in major cities, particularly Gaza City in the north
Urbanization:
urban population:76.2% of total population(2018)
rate of urbanization:3% annual rate of change(2015-20 est.)
note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Sex ratio:
at birth:1.06 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
0-14 years:1.05 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
15-24 years:1.01 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
25-54 years:0.96 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
55-64 years:1.1 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
65 years and over:0.71 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
total population:1.02 male(s)/female(2017 est.)
Maternal mortality rate:
45 deaths/100,000 live births(2015 est.)
note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
country comparison to the world:98
Infant mortality rate:
total:16 deaths/1,000 live births(2018 est.)
male:17.1 deaths/1,000 live births(2018 est.)
female:14.9 deaths/1,000 live births(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:96
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:74.4 years(2018 est.)
male:72.7 years(2018 est.)
female:76.2 years(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:124
Total fertility rate:
3.97 children born/woman(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world:32
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
57.2%(includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank)(2014)
Physicians density:
2.2 physicians/1,000 population(2014)
Hospital bed density:
1.32 beds/1,000 population(2015)
Drinking water source:
improved:urban:50.7% of population
rural:81.5% of population
total:58.4% of population
unimproved:urban:49.3% of population
rural:18.5% of population
total:41.6% of population(2015 est.)
note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Sanitation facility access:
improved:urban:93% of population(2015 est.)
rural:90.2% of population(2015 est.)
total:92.3% of population(2015 est.)
unimproved:urban:7% of population(2015 est.)
rural:9.8% of population(2015 est.)
total:7.7% of population(2015 est.)
note: note includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
1.4%(2014)
note: estimate is for Gaza Strip and the West Bank
country comparison to the world:117
Education expenditures:
5.7% of GDP(2016)
note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
country comparison to the world:43
Literacy:
definition:age 15 and over can read and write(2016 est.)
total population:96.9%(2016 est.)
male:98.6%(2016 est.)
female:95.2%(2016 est.)
note: estimates are for Gaza and the West Bank
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total:13 years(2015)
male:12 years(2015)
female:14 years(2015)
note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total:40.7%(2015 est.)
male:36.4%(2015 est.)
female:60.8%(2015 est.)
note: includes the West Bank
country comparison to the world:11
Economy - overview:
Movement and access restrictions, violent attacks, and the slow pace of post-conflict reconstruction continue to degrade economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, the smaller of the two areas comprising the Palestinian territories. Israeli controls became more restrictive after HAMAS seized control of the territory in June 2007. Under Hamas control, Gaza has suffered from rising unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and a sharp contraction of the private sector, which had relied primarily on export markets.
Since April 2017, the Palestinian Authority has reduced payments for electricity supplied to Gaza and cut salaries for its employees there, exacerbating poor economic conditions. Since 2014, Egypt’s crackdown on the Gaza Strip’s extensive tunnel-based smuggling network has exacerbated fuel, construction material, and consumer goods shortages in the territory. Donor support for reconstruction following the 51-day conflict in 2014 between Israel and HAMAS and other Gaza-based militant groups has fallen short of post-conflict needs.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
see entry for the West Bank
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.938 billion(2014 est.)(2014 est.)
note: excludes the West Bank
GDP - real growth rate:
-15.2%(2014 est.)
5.6%(2013 est.)
7%(2012 est.)
note: excludes the West Bank
country comparison to the world:223
GDP - per capita (PPP):
see entry for the the West Bank
GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption:88.6%(2017 est.)
government consumption:26.3%(2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital:22.4%(2017 est.)
investment in inventories:0%(2017 est.)
exports of goods and services:18.6%(2017 est.)
imports of goods and services:-55.6%(2017 est.)
note: data exclude the West Bank
GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture:3%(2017 est.)
industry:21.1%(2017 est.)
services:75%(2017 est.)
note: data exclude the West Bank
Agriculture - products:
olives, fruit, vegetables, flowers; beef, dairy products
Industries:
textiles, food processing, furniture
Industrial production growth rate:
2.2%(2017 est.)
note: see entry for the West Bank
country comparison to the world:125
Labor force:
1.24 million(2017 est.)
note: excludes the West Bank
country comparison to the world:138
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture:5.2%
industry:10%
services:84.8%(2015 est.)
note: data exclude the West Bank
Unemployment rate:
27.9%(2017 est.)
27%(2016 est.)
note: data exclude the West Bank
country comparison to the world:201
Population below poverty line:
30%(2011 est.)
note: data exclude the West Bank
Budget:
see entry for the West Bank
Fiscal year:
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.2%(2017 est.)
-0.2%(2016 est.)
note: excludes the West Bank
country comparison to the world:16
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
see entry for the West Bank
Stock of narrow money:
see entry for the West Bank
Stock of broad money:
$2.901 billion(31 December 2017 est.)
$2.538 billion(31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:129
Stock of domestic credit:
$2.041 billion(31 December 2017 est.)
$1.712 billion(31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:149
Current account balance:
-$1.444 billion(2017 est.)
-$1.348 billion(2016 est.)
note: excludes the West Bank
country comparison to the world:152
Exports:
$1.955 billion(2017 est.)
$1.827 billion(2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:142
Exports - commodities:
strawberries, carnations, vegetables, fish (small and irregular shipments, as permitted to transit the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing)
Imports:
$8.59 billion(2018 est.)
$7.852 billion(2017 est.)
see entry for the West Bank
country comparison to the world:109
Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, fuel
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$446.3 million(31 December 2017 est.)
$583 million(31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world:156
Debt - external:
see entry for the West Bank
Exchange rates:
see entry for the West Bank
Telephones - fixed lines:
total subscriptions:432,000(includes the West Bank); (July 2016 est.)(July 2016 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:9(includes the West Bank); (July 2016 est.)(July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:101
Telephones - mobile cellular:
total subscriptions:3,531,000 (includes the West Bank)(July 2016 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:76 (includes the West Bank)(July 2016 est.)
Telephone system:
general assessment:Israel has final say in allocating frequencies in the Gaza Strip and does not permit anything beyond a 2G network(2018)
domestic:Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed-line services; the Palestinian JAWWAL company provides cellular services; a slow 2G network allows calls and limited data transmission(2018)
international:country code - 970(2018)
Broadcast media:
Internet country code:
.psnote - same as the West Bank
Internet users:
total:2.673 million(includes the West Bank)(July 2016 est.)
percent of population:57.4%(July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:101
Broadband - fixed subscriptions:
total:320,500(2016 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants:14(2016 est.)
country comparison to the world:93
Terrorist groups - home based:
Army of Islam (AOI):
aim(s): stage attacks against Israel and Egypt from the Gaza Strip and, ultimately, establish an Islamic emirate in the region
area(s) of operation: headquartered in Gaza; heaviest presence and operational activity is in the Gaza Strip
note: operatives have a history of launching low-impact rockets into Israeli and Egyptian territory; the Army of Islam (Jaish al-Islam, JAI) in Syria is unrelated to AOI(April 2018)
HAMAS:
aim(s): maintain control of the Gaza Strip to facilitate Palestinian nationalist aims
area(s) of operation: headquartered in Gaza(April 2018)
Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC):
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip against Israel and, ultimately, destroy the state of Israel
area(s) of operation: headquartered in Gaza, although present in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Israel(April 2018)
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ):
aim(s): enhance its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip to launch attacks against Israel
area(s) of operation: stages rocket attacks against civilians and military personnel primarily in southern Israel(April 2018)
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF):
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip against Israel and, ultimately, destroy the state of Israel in order to establish a secular, Marxist Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital
area(s) of operation: based in Gaza; maintains a recruitment and paramilitary training presence in most of the refugee camps across the Gaza Strip(April 2018)
PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC):
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities to prepare fighters for deployment to Syria and to launch occasional attacks inside Israel; ultimately, seeks to establish a Palestinian state
area(s) of operation: headquartered in Gaza; as a longtime supporter of the Syrian Government, the group trains and deploys fighters to Syria to fight on behalf of President Bashar al-ASAD; stages occasional small-scale attacks inside Israel(April 2018)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP):
aim(s): destroy the state of Israel and, ultimately, establish a secular, Marxist Palestinian state
area(s) of operation: headquartered in Gaza, recruiting and training fighters; stages limited attacks against Israel(April 2018)
Terrorist groups - foreign based:
Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB):
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip against Israel to continue its attempts to disrupt Israel's economy and its efforts to establish security
area(s) of operation: launches homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip into populated Israeli territory, primarily the cities of Nahariya and Ashkelon(April 2018)
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB):
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip against Israel and, ultimately, establish a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem
area(s) of operation: stages attacks from the Gaza Strip against Israeli soldiers and civilians inside Israel, including launching rockets and missiles(April 2018)
Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)-Sinai:
aim(s): bolster its staging capabilities in the Gaza Strip against Israel and, ultimately, establish a regional Islamic caliphate
area(s) of operation: stages attacks against Egyptian forces along the Gaza Strip-Egypt border and launches rockets into southern Israel from the border closest to Israel
note: formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis(April 2018)