Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Issued Child Statistics Report on the Eve of Palestinian Children’s Day April 5, 2013

Within the framework of  its  proactive dissemination policy, PCBS issued the annual child statistics report on the occasion of Palestinian children’s day

About 2.04 million children under the age in the Palestine in the mid of 2012 .

Based on the results of the Population, Housing and Establishment Census-2007, the estimated number of children in the Palestine totaled to 2.04 million out of 4.29 million individuals (the total population in the Palestine) in the mid of  2012.  The percentage of individuals under the age of 18  is still high which is about 47.6% of the total population.

Demographic statistics and trends in the Palestinian society showed that the children will constitute the majority for several coming years; due to the considered high fertility rate of the Palestinian woman and low rates of infant mortality.

The Palestinian household is formed at early ages, where the females mean age at first marriage in the Palestine was 20.0 years and 24.6 years for males in 2011.

Currently, 11 out of 100 children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition: 11.5% in the West Bank and 10.4% in Gaza Strip. Hebron governorate had the highest rate of 16.7% compared to other governorates.  It is should be noted that the percentage was 7.5% in 2000.

In 2010, 3.7% of children aged under five years in Palestine were underweight: 3.9% in the West Bank and 3.5% in the Gaza Strip. Rates were 5.7% for Hebron governorate, 4.6% for Ramallah & Al-Bireh governorate and 3.9% for Jerusalem governorate. In the Gaza Strip, the rates of underweight children were 4.6% in Deir Al- Balah, 4.4% in North Gaza and 4.4% in Rafah governorate.

Based on Ministry of Health data for 2011, the leading cause of infant mortality in the West Bank was respiratory tract infections with 39.7%: 42.0% for male children and 37.0% for female. This was followed by infant mortality caused by premature and low birth weight with 16.2%: 17.0% for male children and 15.2% for female children. Congenital anomalies caused death in 15.9% of cases: 13.6% for male children and 18.5% for female children. Septicemia was the cause of 15.3% of infant mortality: 15.3% for male children and 15.0% for female children.

According to data from the Ministry of Health for 2011, the leading cause of deaths among children under five years in the West Bank was conditions in the prenatal period totaling 36.7%: 37.8% for male children and 35.3% for female children.

In 2010, 19.4% of children aged 6-59 months had anemia: 25.6% in the Gaza Strip and 13.4% in the West Bank. Qalqilya governorate reported the highest rate of anemia among children with 32.3%, followed by Salfit (19.7%) and Nablus governorate (19.4%). In the Gaza Strip, Deir Al-Balah governorate reported the highest rate of anemia of 41.4%,  followed by Gaza (31.3%) and Khan Yunis (21.8%) governorates.

At the beginning of the 2011/2012 scholastic year, there were 1,129,538 students enrolled in basic and secondary stage education. Female students constituted around 50.2%. The percentage of females varied from one stage to another: in basic education females constituted 49.6% compared to 54.4% at secondary stage.

In 2011, the percentage of children (10-17 years) who used a computer was 75.1% (81.9% in the West Bank and 64.4% in the Gaza Strip) with no significant difference between males (76.7%) and females (73.5%).

The results showed that four out of ten children in the 10-17 age group (43.6%) have access to an Internet service and know how to use it, while four out of ten children (39.0%) do not have even a minimal understanding of the Internet.

The poverty rate in 2011 indicated that the rate of the total distribution of poverty among Palestinian households in the Palestine was 20.7% in 2011 (using consumption data), of which 22.7% is among households with children and 13.2% is among households without children.

More significantly, poverty data indicated that 14.5% of households in the West Bank suffered from poverty in 2011 (15.7% of households with children and 10.5% of households without children). In the Gaza Strip, 32.6% of households suffered from poverty in 2011 (34.6% of households with children and 21.1% of households without children).

In 2011, 27.2% of children in Palestine were poor: 18.4% in the West Bank and 39.3% in the Gaza Strip.

The results of the Labor Force Survey of 2012 showed that 4.1% of all children (10-17 years) were in paid or unpaid employment: 7.5% males and 0.6% females (5.8% in the West Bank and 1.5% in the Gaza Strip) in 2012.

2.2% of children who attend school are employed (3.4% in the West Bank and  0.3% in the Gaza Strip: 4.0% males and 0.5% females) while 28.5% do not attend school (34.3% in the West Bank and 18.2% in the Gaza Strip: 38.5% males and 2.8% females).

About 56.9% of working children in Palestine work for their families as unpaid workers: 95.5% females and 54.0% males. Around 37.4% are paid and work outside the family: 2.6% females and 40.0% males and 5.6% are employers or self-employed. Moreover, 38.5% of working children in Palestine work in agriculture (42.9% in West Bank and 12.2%  in Gaza Strip), while 30.0% work in commerce, restaurants and hotels (27.9% in West Bank and 42.5% in Gaza Strip). Additionally, 31.5% work in other economic activities such as the recycling industry, construction, transportation or services sectors: 29.2% in West Bank and 45.3% in Gaza Strip.