Almost 14 million Palestinians living worldwide, state stats show

There are currently 13.8 million Palestinians worldwide, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, with 5.23 million people living in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip.

The statistics were provided in a joint statement from the PCBS and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on World Population Day.

More than one-third of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are under the age of 15, the state statistics centre said.

In the Gaza Strip, 41 percent of the population is under the age of 15, the PCBS said – far higher than the global percentage of under-15s, which stands at 26 percent.

According to the statistics, there are 2.11 million people living in Gaza, a strip of land approximately 365 kilometres squared in size – making it one of the most densely populated places on earth.

Human rights organisations have condemned Israel for its heavy bombings of Gaza, with special consideration of the density of population.

Israel's offensive in Gaza earlier this year killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 67 children.

Countries with a sizeable Palestinian population include Jordan, Israel, and Syria. Chile has the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East.