Press Release by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Arab Housing Day -

Housing Conditions in Palestine in 2013

 
On the occasion of Arab Housing Day, PCBS presents the main indicators for housing conditions in Palestine during 2013.  The Council of Arab Housing and Reconstruction Ministers, within the framework of the League of Arab States, took the decision to adopt the first Monday of October annually as Arab Housing Day. The logo for 2014 is "Affordable Housing Unit".

957 Thousand Projected Housing Units in Palestine at the end of 2013

According to estimates, the number of projected Palestinian housing units using average head of households Hypothesis was 957,010 at the end of 2013. This is an increase of 36.3% compared with the 2007 census. The number of projected housing units in the West Bank is 625,511, and 331,499 projected housing units in Gaza Strip

The increase in the projected housing units at the end of 2013 was 37,209 higher than at the end of 2012 in Palestine.

The total number of  new and existing licensed housing units in Palestine in 2013 about 15,198 with an average area of 172.2(m2), distributed as 13,593 licensed housing units in the West Bank with an average area of 172.8 (m2), and 1,605 licensed housing units in Gaza Strip with an average area of 167.8 (m2).

Apartments Most Common Type of Housing Unit in Palestine

Data indicate that 0.6% of households in Palestine live in a villa, 47.3% live in a house and 50.7% live in an apartment. The percentage of households that own their housing unit in Palestine is 80.3%: 80.8% in the West Bank and 79.4% in Gaza Strip.

1.6 Persons per Room in Housing Unit   

The results show that average housing density in Palestine in 2013 was 1.6 persons per room: 1.5 in the West Bank and an average of 1.8 in Gaza Strip. Around 11.0% of households in Palestine live in housing units with three persons or more per room: 9.5% in the West Bank and 14.0% in  Gaza Strip.

In 2013 the average number of rooms per housing unit in Palestine was 3.4. Around 20.1% of households in Palestine live in housing units with 1-2 rooms: 19.9% in the West Bank and 20.6% in Gaza Strip.

Damage to Housing Units in the Israeli assault on Gaza Strip 2014

During the assault in Gaza Strip the total number of housing unit partially or completely destroyed during the period 7/7- 26/8/2014 reached 17,132 as:  2,465 housing units were completely destroyed and 14,667 housing units seriously damaged, in addition 39,500 housing units were damaged, according to documentation of Euro- mid Observer For Human Rights, and around 100 thousands persons were displaced.