The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Issued a Press Release on the Occasion of World Children's Day, 20/11/2017

Investing in the children of Palestine is an urgent need to sustain development and face the violations of the Israeli occupation against them

Population

The number of children under the age of 18 was estimated at about 2,250,809 in the State Palestine in mid-2017, of whom 1,149,410 males and 1,101,399 females; where the percentage of children in Palestine reached about 45.6% of the population (43.0% in the West Bank and 49.3% in Gaza Strip). The number of male children in the West Bank reached 660,087 and the number of females reached 633,334, while in Gaza Strip, the number of males reached 489,323 and the number of females reached 468,065.

Estimates of Children Number by Age Group, Region and Sex, in MID of 2017

Children in Israeli Occupation Prisons                           

According to the data released by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and since the outbreak of Jerusalem uprising in October 2015, the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested 15,000 Palestinians, including about 4,000 children (under 18 years), of whom about 300 are still in detention, deprived of their innocent childhood and their right to education, in addition to being subjected to abuse during detention.

Children Martyrs

According to the records of the International Movement for the Defense of Children in Palestine, 35 children were martyred during 2016. Moreover, fourteen martyred children have been documented, since the beginning of the current year 2017 and until the end of August, as they were shot randomly, where 3 martyred children were in the age group 13-15 years and the other 11 martyred children were in the age group 16-17 years.

Children Forced Displacement

418 houses and 646 establishments were demolished in 2016 by the Israeli occupation, causing displacement of 1,852 individuals, out of whom were 848 children, as a result of the demolition of their homes. While the demolition of establishments affected 8,000 individuals, out of whom were 4,300 children. Housing demolitions were concentrated in Jerusalem governorate, which accounted for 39% of the demolished houses in 2016, followed by Nablus governorate with 19% and Hebron governorate with 17%.

Child Labour

The percentage of working children, whether paid or unpaid, in Palestine was 3.9% of the total number of children aged 10-17 years in 2016 (5.3% in the West Bank and 1.9% in Gaza Strip). The given percentages showed that the employed male children were higher than the employed female children (7.4% for males compared to 0.3% for females).

The percentage of employed children who enrolled in schools was 1.7% (2.4% in the West Bank and 0.8% in Gaza Strip). This percentage was disaggregated by 3.3% for males and 0.3% for females in 2016.

While the average daily wage for children aged 10-17 years working as wage employees was 56.0 New Israeli Shekels, and the average weekly working hours for employed children was 44.0 hours per week during the year 2016.

Dropout from Schools among Male Children is Higher than among the Females

The number of school students in the scholastic year 2016/2017 in Palestine reached about 1.23 million students, including about 1.09 million students in the basic schools and 145 thousand students in secondary schools. While the number of children enrolled in kindergartens in the West Bank for the same scholastic year reached about 80 thousand children.

In the scholastic year 2015/2016, the dropout rate from basic education stage was about 1.2% among males and 0.7% among females. While the dropout rate from secondary education stage reached about 1.3% among males and 1.1% among females.

In terms of repetition at schools, the percentage of repetition was 1.2% for males and females in basic education stage in the scholastic year 2015/2016. While the percentage of repetition in secondary education was 0.6% for males compared to 0.7% for females in the same scholastic year.

Data Sources:

1. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017

2. International Movement for the Defense of Children in Palestine, 2017

3. Abdullah Al-Hourani Center for Studies and Documentation, 2017

4. Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, 2017