With the exception of a 10km border with Egypt, the rest of Gaza is completely surrounded by Israel and the Mediterranean.
The unique Palestinian enclave, currently under “complete siege” by Israeli forces in retaliation for Hamas terrorists who massacred civilians in an unprecedented bombardment on October 7, is one of the most densely populated places on earth, with some parts even more so are more crowded than New York City.
Gaza stretches just 25 miles (41 km) along the Mediterranean coast and is 7.5 miles (12 km) wide at its thickest point. About 2 million people live in Gaza. And according to the figures, half of them are under 18 years old.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has bombarded Gaza with a series of devastating airstrikes as punishment for Hamas gunmen massacring citizens on one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. Nearly 4,000 Palestinians were killed and thousands of homes were destroyed across the 141-square-mile region.
A strict blockade also means that citizens who have not yet been evacuated due to Israel’s order to evacuate “immediately” face shortages of food, clean water, medicine, electricity and fuel.
Israel has tightened its grip on the region after vowing to “crush” Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
According to United Nations estimates, around 5.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians are among the youngest populations in the world, with an average age – the exact mean – of just 19.6 years. This compares to 40.1 in the UK and 38.1 in the US.
But the occupied territories in Gaza and the West Bank could not be more different.
The majority of Gazans are refugees and interactive graphics created by Web show stark differences in the lifestyles and future prospects of people in the coastal enclave compared to those in the West Bank.
In Gaza, the unemployment rate is almost 45 percent and is higher for women than for men. In comparison, unemployment in the West Bank is around 15 percent in 2019.
But even those lucky enough to work in Gaza are paid miserable wages, taking home a daily wage of 61.6 new Israeli shekels (NIS), about £12.51, in 2020. In the West Bank, wages are almost twice as high at NIS 121.9 – £24.76.
The map shows the population density in the Gaza Strip over time. The map on the left shows that in 2000 (left) 1.1 million people lived in the city, most of them in the north. By 2020, the number of people living there increased to 2 million (right), with the north – the specific area of Gaza City – and the south being more densely populated
How Gaza compares in size and population density to London and New York City. Gaza (left) is home to about 2 million people – that’s about 14,900 people per square mile. For comparison: 9 and 8.5 million people live in the densely populated cities of London (right) and New York (center). This means that New York is theoretically twice as crowded. Still, some parts of Gaza are even more densely populated than Manhattan. Source: UK Parliament, Palestine Ministry of Health
SHADOWS: A population pyramid shows the distribution of Palestine’s population by age and gender in 1950. At that time, almost a million people lived there. BOLD: However, that number has skyrocketed, putting the population of Palestine at about 5.3 million in 2022, according to the United Nations. Almost half are under 19 years old. Source: United Nations, 2022 Revision of World Population Prospects
Israel has announced that it expects a “three-phase” war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is the first time the country has presented a long-term plan to address its bloodiest conflict in decades. A map shows Gaza in relation to the populated areas (purple), the locations of the refugee camps (green) and the evacuation zone (red shading) – as ordered by the Israeli government
If you break down Palestine’s own population, around 2.5 million people are considered refugees. According to the United Nations, Palestine refugees are “persons whose habitual residence was Palestine during the period from June 1, 1946 to May 15, 1948, and who lost both their homes and their means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” Another 2.4 million refugees live in neighboring Jordan. Over a million more live in Lebanon and Syria. SOURCE: UN High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East
Fertility Rate: The number of births per woman in a population (Palestine 3.5, world average 2.3). LIFE EXPECTANCY: The total number of years a baby born in 2021 is expected to live (Palestine 73.5, world average 71.0). CHILD MORTALITY: The proportion of newborns who die before the age of five (Palestine 1.5%, world average 3.8%). Literacy rate: The proportion of people over 15 who can both read and write (Palestine 97.5%, world average 86.8%). SAFE WATER: Proportion of the population using safely managed drinking water, defined as drinking water that is local, available when needed and free of contaminants (Palestine 80.3%, world average 72.9%). ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY: Proportion of the population with access to electricity, defined as a source of electricity that can provide very basic lighting and charge a telephone or power a radio for four hours a day (Palestine 100%, world average 90.4%) . Source: Our world in data