Everybody talks about Gaza, but few know about the basic facts of the Strip. Here are some, 4 years ago.
The Gaza Strip is 360 square kilometers. About twice the size of Washington, D.C., slightly more than the size of Rotterdam. The same surface as Algiers.
78% of its population is urban, composed of about 2.2 million inhabitants. With a life expectancy of 73 for men, 77 for women – in Israel : 80 for men, 84 for women.
The median age is 19.2. Compared to 30 in Israel, 42.5 in France, 47 in Germany,
The fertility rate : 3.4 children per woman. Slightly less than 3 in Israel.
40% of the population is under 14. Compared to 26% in Israel.
School life expectancy is 12 for men, 14 for women. 15 in Israel, 17 for women.
The GDP per capita in both the West Bank and Gaza was $ 6,200 (5,700 €) in 2019. In 2021 it was $ 5,600 (5,140 €). In Israel : $ 40,800 (37,440 €) in 2019. 42,100 (38,630 €) in 2021. The ratio is roughly 1 to 8.
The average monthly income in Gaza, for a middle-class family, is $ 250 (230 €). In Tel Aviv, it ranges from 3,500 to 6,800. The average daily wage in Gaza is around $ 12, as opposed to a little over 80 in Tel Aviv.
You count 2.7 physicians and 1.3 hospital bed for 1,000 people. Compared to 3.63 in Israel, and 3 beds.
Before the war, 61% of the people lived below the poverty line. Now they are 81%.
The poverty threshold being considered as the minimum level of income to survive per country.
64% of the people in Gaza, two-thirds, are considered food insecure.*
The youth unemployment rate is two-thirds of them.
* the last message received from Gaza in early 2024, from a displaced university teacher, mentioned half a kilo per day, for three persons.
Begging the question : in such economic dire straits, why on earth should any government choose to invest so heavily and primarily in military tunnels and rockets, mortars ?
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