عربي
Ms. Ola Awad, President of PCBS
Presents the Key Statistical Figures and Indicators on Palestinian Mothers on the occasion of Mother’s Day 21st, March 2017
And extends her deepest appreciation to them
Ms. Ola Awad, President of Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics presented the reality of Palestinian women through key statistical figures and indicators on the occasion of Mother’s Day this Tuesday 21st, March 2017. On this occasion, she expressed her deepest appreciation to mothers all over the world, particularly to Palestinian mothers, for their patience, resilience and steadfastness; saying that they are the guards of the dream and the makers of future generations. On this day, we need to recall their heroic positions and sacrifices as mothers of martyrs, prisoners, militants, and wounded and as mothers of construction and development. On this day, we wish them more strength to continue their efforts to develop our homeland.
Ms. Ola Awad mentioned that Palestinian women represent half of the Palestinian society as the estimated population of Palestine end 2016 reached 4.88 million, including 2.48 millions males (50.8%) and 2.40 females (49.2%). The gender ratio reached 103.3, meaning there are 103 males for every 100 females. She added that women-headed households represented 11.0% of all Palestinian households (871,000 households) in 2016; noting that early marriage among females (less than 18 years) represented 20% compared to 1% for males of the total number of married individuals in Palestine.
PCBS president also explained that the Palestinian Youth Survey, 2015 showed that 34.2% of females (15 years and above) in Palestine have never got married, married females represented 59% while divorced females reached 2% and the remaining percentages represented widows and separated females.
Ms. Awad added that fertility rates are high in Palestine if compared to their levels in other countries. This high fertility rate is attributed to early marriage, especially for females, the desire of reproduction in addition to the Palestinian traditions. Nonetheless, some changes occurred in the last decade of the last century, showing a decrease in the total fertility rate in Palestine as it reached 4.1 births per every female aged 15-49 in 2011-2013, compared to 6 births per female in 1997.
PCBS president added that life expectancy in Palestine during 2016 reached 73.7 and was higher for females compared to males, being 75.2 and 72.1 respectively. Also, that the variance in life expectancy between the West Bank for 73.9 years (are 75.5 for females and 72.4 for males) while in Gaza Strip for 73.0 years (are 74.6 for females and 71.5 for males).
On maternity care, Ms. Awad stated that 95.5% of mothers received healthcare at least four times during their last pregnancies and that 99.6% delivered with the help of a qualified medical staff. As for the natural birth, it should be noted that 20.3% of deliveries were through a C-section.
Ms. Awad added that proper infant and children nutrition helps them survive and live healthily on the long-term. On this matter and , according to the findings of the Palestinian multi-indicator cluster survey, 2014, data showed that 97% of mothers who delivered in the two years preceding the implementation of the survey have breastfed their children; 40.8% of these infants were breastfed in the first hour after birth while 85.2% in the first day after birth.
With respect to child development, PCBS President indicated that mothers participate in activities that promote child development and education at early age; including: reading books, telling stories, singing with children, drawing and playing with them more than fathers do. Data of 2014 showed that 54% of the children aged 36-59 months had participated with their mothers in four or more child development and education activities, compared to only 12% representing the participation in such activities with the fathers.
Ms. Awad also indicated that official statistics showed a number of 50,438 registered marriage contracts in Palestine, being 29,701 in the West Bank (58.9%) and 20,737 n the Gaza Strip (41.1%).
As for the registered cases of divorce in sharia courts in 2015 in Palestine, PCBS President explained that they reached 8,179 cases being distributed as 4,914 in West Bank (60.1%) and 3,265 in the Gaza Strip (39.9%).
Data also showed that in 2014, 70% of mothers aged 15-29 years have at least completed their secondary education while only 0.5% were never enrolled in education.
Moreover, PCBS president presented the key indicators of females in labor market in Palestine for the year 2016: participation rate in the labor force for individuals (15 years and above) reached 45.8%, being 19.3% for females and 71.6% for males. Findings also showed that participation rate among married females aged 15 and above represented 18.3%, being 16.3% in the West Bank and 21.6% in the Gaza Strip.
PCBS president also mentioned that unemployment rates among participants in the labor force for 15 years and above were high represented as 26.9%. (361,000) distributed as 22.2% for males and 44.7% for females. In the West Bank, the number of the unemployed was 154,000, being 18.2% of participants in the labor force aged 15 and above (15.5% for males and 26.8% for females). In Gaza Strip, the number of the unemployed was 207,000 people, being 41.7% of the participants in the labor market aged 15 years and above (34.4% for males and 65.2% for females).
Ms. Awad indicated that over half of the working females are employed in technical and specialized professions. The rate of females working in technical, specialized, assisting and clerk positions reached 55.7 compared to 21.7% for males. Among married females, the rate was 53.5% compared to 25.8% among married males.
Finally, the rate of females working in services and trade in the markets reached 16.1%, compared to 19.2% for males. The rate of married females working in services and trade in the markets represented 16.2% compared to 18.3% for married males.