The PNA assumed full responsibility for the health sector in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in December 1994. Since then, health policy planning, implementation and evaluation have been addressed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The PSRAs consist of two geographical entities - the West Bank and Gaza Strip - with an estimated population of 2.27 million. About 1.3 million live in the West Bank, and the remainder in the Gaza Strip. Approximately 30% of the population of the West Bank live in 12 areas, 60% in over 500 villages and around 10% in 19 refugee camps. In the Gaza Strip, approximately 52% of the population live in the five main urban centres, and the remaining 48% in eight refugee camps.

The West Bank covers 5,800 km². It is a hilly region consisting of three ranges: the Nablus mountains in the north, the Jerusalem mountains in the centre and the Hebron mountains in the south. The Gaza Strip is situated along the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Egypt, and covers an area of 370 km².

Demographic information for the PSRAs is incomplete and inaccurate, since the most recent census was carried out as long ago as 1967.

As stated above, the Palestinian population is about 2.27 million, with a high growth rate, estimated at 5.2% in the Gaza Strip and 5.1% in the West Bank. The population density in the Gaza Strip is very high, with 2,600 people per square kilometre. The population pyramid in the West Bank shows that 45% of the population are below 15 years of age and that 3.7% are aged 65 years or above. In the Gaza Strip, 50.3% of the population are below the age of 15 and only 2.9% are aged 60 or above.

Table 1. Population age breakdown in the West Band and Gaza Strip

Source: PCBS, Demographic survey for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, March 1996.

Distribution of population by region

The major cities in the West Bank are: Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Qalqilia, Tulkarem, Jenin, Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah. The major cities in the Gaza Strip are Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis. Tables 2 and 3 provide estimates of population distribution by district.

Table 2. Population distribution by district, West Bank

Source: The status of health in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Annual Report 1996, MoH, 1996.

Table 3. Population distribution by district, Gaza Strip

Source: The status of health in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Annual Report 199. MoH, 1996.

The crude birth rates in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are high: they are estimated at 46.5 per thousand and 42.9 per thousand respectively.