Amman, 5/11/2014

The “How Many Are We?” initiative at “All-4-Palestine,” announced, based on an analytical study that was recently concluded, that the number of Palestinians and individuals whose lineage is traced back to Palestinian ancestry surpassed 25 million worldwide.

The study was based on the following:

First:   There were 1,363,387 Palestinians in Palestine in the year 1948 based on official figures as reported by the Palestinian Government. The year 1948 was benchmarked as the base year.

Second:   The “UN World Population Prospects 2012” for population growth rates in the relevant countries was used as a reference for populations and growth rates.

Third:   The average population growth rate of the population growth rates of the GCC (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman), Egypt and Sudan was imputed. These countries were selected because their population growth rates were based on domestic populations, and were not due to the including of forced or voluntary migrations; additionally, these countries do not have high rates of naturalization.

Fourth:   Therefore, the average of the population growth rates of the eight countries (4.54%) was used as the average growth rate for Palestinians worldwide for a period of 67 years.

Fifth:

• Noting that the Palestinian growth rate is one of the highest in the world,  the calculated number is conservative. 
• Noting that many difficulties are associated with conducting a population census of the Palestinians. The difficulties arise primarily from the fact that the census would be dealing with a Diaspora people. Over the last seven decades, they have been dispersed all over the world as forced migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and at times holders of various nationalities.
• And noting that the children of Palestinian mothers and non-Palestinian fathers were not included in the calculation,

The 25 Million is A Very Conservative Figure

Enclosures

Table 1: Population growth rates in the eight mentioned countries from 1948-2014.

Table2: Population growth rates for people of Palestinian origin based on the average population growth rate in the eight mentioned countries.

About All 4 Palestine

The All-4-Palestine society was established in September 2011 in Paris as a not-for-profit voluntary organization by a group of prominent Palestinians from all over the world. The society’s Assembly elected a 19-member board of trustees that is Chaired by HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and HE Mr. Sabri Saydam as Vice Chairman.  The society aims at providing a comprehensive reference and platform that promotes the contributions of Palestinians worldwide and in all fields. All-4-Palestine also provides a database underscoring the contributions of Palestinian discipline leaders  such as scientists, authors, writers, businessmen, actors, comedians, athletes, etc. In spite of their sufferings as a people in Diaspora, Palestinians have made it in the world and became an example that is appreciated and respected in their adopted communities. Their heirloom is to be safeguarded to serve as a guide for the generations to come.