Historic Palestine is based in the Middle East bordering Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Nowadays Palestine comprises the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on the Eastern Mediterranean Coast.

Capital

East Jerusalem

 

Area

West Bank 5,640km²
Gaza 45 km²

Population

West Bank 2,5 million
Gaza 1,5 million

Diaspora

Today more than 5 million Palestinians live as refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom still live in overcrowded refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

 

Government

Palestine is governed by a Parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislative system. The President is currently Mahmoud Abbas, and Head of Government is Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

 

Language

Arabic is the official language of Palestine, and there are speakers of different Arabic dialects, however they all understand its classical form as exemplified in its textual representation.

 

Religion

Around 96% of Palestinians are Sunni Muslims and approximately 2% are Christians. The majority of Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, but there are also Greek Catholics, Roman Catholic community, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and a few Protestant denominations. Several small Shi’a and Samaritans populations can also be found in Palestine. Palestine values its ethnically and religiously diverse population.

 

Economic Profile

Tourism is considered as one of the main pillars of the Palestinian economy. The other important sector is quarrying and building stone industry; a significant portion of the total product is exported locally and to Jordan, Europe and North America. The main industries in Palestine are generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs.