West Bank People - 2023

Population

3,050,760 (2023 est.)

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

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Nationality

noun: NA

adjective: NA

Ethnic groups

Palestinian Arab, Jewish, other

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

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Muslim 80-85% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 12-14%, Christian 1-2.5% (mainly Greek Orthodox), other, unaffiliated, unspecified <1% (2012 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 34.07% (male 533,142/female 506,268)

15-64 years: 61.94% (male 960,379/female 929,324)

65 years and over: 3.99% (2023 est.) (male 57,449/female 64,198)

total dependency ratio: 74.3

youth dependency ratio: 68.2

elderly dependency ratio: 6.1

potential support ratio: 16.5 (2021 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Median age

total: 21.9 years

male: 21.7 years

female: 22.2 years (2020 est.)

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Population growth rate

1.66% (2023 est.)

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Birth rate

24.02 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Death rate

3.38 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Net migration rate

-4.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Population distribution

the most populous Palestinian communities in the West Bank are located in the central ridge and western half of its territory; Jewish settlements are located throughout the West Bank, the most populous in the Seam Zone--between the 1949 Armistice Line and the separation barrier--and around Jerusalem

Urbanization

urban population: 77.6% of total population (2023)

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

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

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

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

20 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

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Infant mortality rate

total: 14.91 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 17.24 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 12.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.63 years

male: 74.55 years

female: 78.84 years (2023 est.)

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Total fertility rate

2.91 children born/woman (2023 est.)

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Gross reproduction rate

1.41 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

57.3% (2019/20)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 98.9% of population

rural: 99% of population

total: 98.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.1% of population

rural: 1% of population

total: 1.1% of population (2020 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Current health expenditure

NA

Physicians density

3.25 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2019)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 99.9% of population

rural: 98.6% of population

total: 99.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population

rural: 1.4% of population

total: 0.4% of population (2020 est.)

note: note includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Major infectious diseases

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Asia; the West Bank is currently considered a high risk to travelers for polio; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

2.1% (2019/20)

note: estimate is for Gaza Strip and the West Bank

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Currently married women (ages 15-49)

62.4% (2023 est.)

note: data includes Gaza and the West Bank

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 0.7%

women married by age 18: 13.4% (2020 est.)

note: includes both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Education expenditures

5.3% of GDP (2018 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip and the West Bank

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Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.5%

male: 98.8%

female: 96.2% (2020)

note: estimates are for Gaza and the West Bank

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years

male: 12 years

female: 14 years (2021)

note: data represent Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 39.6%

male: 33.7%

female: 69% (2021 est.)

note: includes Gaza Strip

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NOTE: The information regarding West Bank on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of West Bank 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about West Bank 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.