Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and Ministry of Culture (MOC)

Press Release by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) & Ministry of Culture (MOC) on the occasion of the Palestinian National Culture Day

To mark the Palestinian National Culture Day on March 13^th, PCBS & MOC reviewed the status of cultural institutions in Palestine.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the reality of cultural institutions during 2020 due to frequent lock-down measures to limit the spread of the virus. While the year 2021 witnessed a remarkable improvement in the reality of cultural institutions, as the number of cultural activities held in cultural centers increased, museums witnessed a remarkable turnout of visitors compared to 2020, and theaters also witnessed a turnout from viewers for their plays shown in theaters. Below are the most prominent statistical figures that reflect the reality of cultural institutions during the year 2021.

The number of institutions[1]working in cultural activities in the private and the non-governmental sectors in Palestine reached 1,086 in 2017, where such institutions employ 3,882 employees, of whom 2,924 are males and 958 are females. In the West Bank, the number of institutions working in cultural activities reached 729 (67%) with 2,574 employees, of whom 74% are males and 26% are females. Whereas the number of institutions working in cultural activities in Gaza Strip reached 357 establishments (33%), where the number of employees reached 1,308, of whom 77% are males and 23% are females.

Hence, such institutions were distributed in Palestine by employment size group into small-sized institutions that employ (1-4) employees, where they reached 858 institutions (79%), medium-sized institutions that employ (5-19) employees, where they reached 211 institutions (19%), and large establishments that employ (20 employees and more). The number of those institutions reached 17 at a percentage of 2%.

The Number of Cultural Centres Operating in Palestine Increased Compared to previous year

The number of cultural centres operating in Palestine increased from 528 cultural centres in 2020 to 577 cultural centres in 2021, with a clear gap in the number of cultural centres between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Distribution of Cultural Centers Operating in Palestine by Region for Selected Years

The number of cultural activities increased in 2021 by 54% compared to previous year, where it reached about 7 thousand cultural activities in 2021 compared to the number of cultural activities held in cultural centres in 2020 which was about 5 thousand cultural activities.

Despite the marked increase in the number of cultural activities, training courses continued to rank first among cultural activities held in cultural centres.

Percentage Distribution of Activities Held in Cultural Centres Operating in Palestine by Type of

Activity for Selected Years

More than half of participants participated face-to-face

In 2021, about 437 thousand persons participated in the cultural activities of the operating cultural centres which responded (about 229 thousand participants participated in cultural activities held face-to-face); about 270 thousand participants in the West Bank and 167 thousand participants in Gaza Strip. In 2020, about 878 thousand persons participated in cultural activities, of whom about 672 thousand participants participated in cultural activities held face-to-face.

Distribution of Participants in Cultural Activities Held by Method ofHolding the Activity, 2021

A noticeable increase in the number of museums visitors during 2021 , but it is still less than the number of visitors before the Corona pandemic

There were 31 museums operating in Palestine in 2021: 26 museums in the West Bank (two of them did not respond) and 5 museums in Gaza Strip.

The number of visitors to museums that provided data reached about 114 thousand visitors in 2021: 86% were Palestinians and 14% of them are from other nationalities. In 2020, 2019 the number of visitors to museums was about 26 thousand and 388 thousand respectively. The results showed that the largest number of visitors was in December with about 18 thousand visitors, while the lowest number was in January with only 2 thousand visitors.

The Number of Theatre Plays Increased in 2021 by Four Times the number of theatre plays in 2020

There were 17 operating theatres in Palestine: 14 in the West Bank (one of them did not respond) and 3 in Gaza Strip.

370 plays were performed in Palestine in 2021: 367 plays in the West Bank and 3 in Gaza Strip; out of which 177 plays were for children, 105 plays were for adults and 88 plays were for both children and adults. There were about 33 thousand theatre attendees; where the highest number was in August with about 7 thousand attendees, while the lowest number was in March with about one thousand attendees. In 2020, 2019: the number of plays performed in 2020 was 96 plays and the number of theatre attendees was about 22 thousand. While the number of plays performed in 2019 was 323 plays and the number of theatre attendees was about 90 thousand.

Contribution of Ministry of Culture in Supporting Cultural Activities in 2021

The Palestinian Ministry of Culture in 2021 has distributed more than 9 thousand books to 500 institutions from universities, schools, institutes, municipalities, cultural institutions and camp libraries throughout Palestine

The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has issued 34 publications, which are among the heritage, poetry, stories, criticism and complete works of late writers and children's literature. And it also worked on Re-launching the State Appreciation Award for Arts, Arts and Humanities, where 6 writers, intellectuals and artists won the award.

Moreover, the Ministry of Culture funded around 75 cultural projects, about 870 thousands NIS for individual, and 546.5 thousands NIS for cultural institutions.

The Sources:

1.    Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017.Population, Hosing and Establishments Census2017. Ramallah-Palestine

2.    Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. Database of Comprehensive Survey on Cultural Centres, Museums and Theatres, 2021. Ramallah-Palestine.

3.    Ministry of Culture 2022. Directorate of Planning & Project Management. Database of Administrative Records, 2021. Ramallah – Palestine.