West Bank Demographics Profile

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Population2,949,246 (July 2021 est.)

note: approximately 432,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank (2019); approximately 227,100 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2019)
Nationalitynoun: NA

adjective: NA
Ethnic groupsPalestinian Arab, Jewish, other
LanguagesArabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

major-language sample(s):
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ReligionsMuslim 80-85% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12-14%, Christian 1-2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1% (2012 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 35.31% (male 525,645/female 498,458)

15-24 years: 20.75% (male 307,420/female 294,469)

25-54 years: 35.19% (male 516,758/female 503,626)

55-64 years: 5.12% (male 76,615/female 72,006)

65 years and over: 3.62% (male 48,387/female 56,650) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 71.2

youth dependency ratio: 65.7

elderly dependency ratio: 5.5

potential support ratio: 18.2 (2020 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Median agetotal: 21.9 years

male: 21.7 years

female: 22.2 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.72% (2021 est.)
Birth rate24.8 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate3.43 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-4.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionPalestinian settlements are primarily located in the central to western half of the territory; Jewish settlements are found in pockets throughout, particularly in the northeast, north-central, and around Jerusalem
Urbanizationurban population: 77% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Sex ratioat birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Maternal mortality rate27 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Infant mortality ratetotal: 15.68 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 18.14 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 13.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.12 years

male: 74.02 years

female: 78.36 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.02 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate57.3% (2019/20)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 97.1% of population

rural: 97.1% of population

total: 96.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.9% of population

rural: 2.9% of population

total: 3.2% of population (2017 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Physicians density1.45 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density1.3 beds/1,000 population (2018)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 99.3% of population

total: 99.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0.7% of population

total: 0.2% of population (2017 est.)

note: note includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNA
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.1% (2019/20)

note: estimate is for Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Education expenditures5.3% of GDP (2017)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.2%

male: 98.7%

female: 95.7% (2018)

note: estimates are for Gaza and the West Bank
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 13 years

male: 13 years

female: 14 years (2019)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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