عربي
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)
On the Eve of World Elderly Day 01/10/2016
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics presents this release about the situation of the elderly 60 years and over in the occasion of the international elderly day October 1st.
Elderly People in Palestine represent 4.5% of the total population in mid 2016
The Palestinian society is considered a young society where the percentage of children is high and the percentage of the elderly is relatively low. In mid of the year 2016, the percentage of the elderly aged 60 and over reached 4.5% of the population in Palestine (5.0% in West Bank and 3.8% in Gaza Strip). Even though, the percentage of the elderly will be increasing during the coming years in Palestine, their percentage will stay relatively low not exceeding 4.5% during the current decade. The elderly percentage may start increasing after year 2020.
Palestine witnesses improvement in life expectancy since the beginning of the last two decades. Life expectancy has increased about 5-8 years during the last two decades. In particular life expectancy increased for both males and females from 67.0 years in 1992 to 72.1 years for males and 75.2 years for females in mid of the year 2016. The life expectancy is expected to increase during the coming years to reach 72.8 years for males and 75.7 years for females in the year 2020. The increase of life expectancy rate at birth resulted in the increase of the elderly number in Palestine which requires studying and researching the elderly situation in Palestine.
Distribution of Population in Palestine by Age Groups, Mid-2016
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Increase of females percentage against males percentage
The percentage of males aged 60 and over in Palestine reached 4.1% in 2016 against 5.0% for females with sex ratio 84.8 males against 100 females.
One household out of six households is headed by an elderly person
17.0% of households headed by an elderly person according to labour force survey 2nd quarter 2016 reached in Palestine (18.0% in West Bank and 15.0% in Gaza Strip). The data indicates that the average size of the households headed by an elderly person is relatively small reached 3.2 individuals (2.9 in West Bank and 3.9 in Gaza Strip), against 5.9 for the households not headed by an elderly person.
Average of Household Size Headed by an Elderly Person in Palestine by Region,
the 2nd Quarter of the year 2016
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About Half of elderly females are widows
89.6% of the elderly males in Palestine are married against 42.5% of the elderly females are married. The percentage of the elderly widowed males reached 9.1% against 48.0% for females in the 2nd quarter of the year 2016.
About half of the working elderly are self-employed
The percentage of the elderly aged 60 and over participation in the labor force reached about 12.5% of the total elderly in Palestine during 2nd quarter of 2016, (15.1% in West Bank and 7.2% in Gaza Strip). The unemployed rate of elderly in Palestine reached 1.0% (0.8% in West Bank and 1.6% in Gaza Strip). The unemployed rate of elderly males reached 2.2%. Data also indicates that 48.7% of the working elderly are self-employed; while 33.4% are paid employees.
Labour Force Participation and Unemployment rate for Elderly in Palestine, 2nd Quarter 2016
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High illiteracy rates among the elderly
Data indicates that there is a high percentage of illiterate elderly in 2015, the percentage of illiteracy for elderly is 29.0% of the total elderly persons. They represent about 64.8% of the illiterate persons in Palestine. The percentage of the elderly who have not completed any educational stage reached 50.2% (32.3% males and 65.2% females).
Percentage Distribution of Persons (15 years and over) Illiterate by age Group, 2015
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The percentage of the elderly who obtained diploma and higher is 10.7% in Palestine. Data on illiteracy of 2015 indicates that there is an obvious difference between males and females in receiving attainment educational where the percentage of the elderly males who had obtained a diploma and higher reached 17.7% against 4.9% for elderly females. Needless to note that the illiteracy percentage of individuals aged 15 and over does not exceed 3.3% (1.5% males against 5.1% females). The percentage of individuals aged 15 and over who obtained diploma and higher reached 18.2% of total population aged 15 and over in Palestine (18.1% males and 18.4% females).