The percentage of youth between 18 and 29 years of age in Palestine was about 22% or 1.14 million of the total population of 5.10 million, with the percentage of youth was about 23% in the West Bank and 22% in Gaza Strip, today said Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) marking the International Youth Day.
While the United Nations defines the youth as the individuals in the age group 15-24 years, with the possibility of adjusting this category according to the specificity of each country, the PCBS considered the youth as the individuals in the age group of 18 to 29 years.
The PCBS said about 180 per 1000 youths in 2019 have a bachelor degree or above in Palestine, an increase from 120 young person per 1000 in 2007.
The percentage of female youth who hold a bachelor degree or a higher degree increased from 130 female per 1000 in 2007 to about 230 per 1000 in 2019, while the percentage of male youth who hold a bachelor degree or a higher degree increased from 110 per 1000 in 2007 to about 130 in 2019.
The percentage of young women (18-29 years) who got married before reaching the age of 18 decreased to about 14 young females per 100 females, according to the preliminary results of the Palestinian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 2019 (12% in the West Bank and about 17% in the Gaza Strip), as opposed to 37 females per 100 females according to the Palestinian Household Survey, 2010.
Data indicated that the percentage of violence prevalence among currently or previously married young women reached 37% in Palestine (31% in the West Bank and 46% in Gaza Strip) in 2019, Where during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine all international studies expected an increase of violence against women during the pandemic in addition to increase in domestic violence.
According to the data of the Labor Force Survey 2019, the illiteracy rate among the youth (18-29 years) has disappeared, where it decreased to about 0.7% in Palestine (0.8% in the West Bank and 0.7% in Gaza Strip) as opposed to 1.1% (1.1% in the West Bank and 1.2% in Gaza Strip) in 2007.
The current impacts of the COVID–19 crisis since the beginning of March 2020 directly affected the different segments of the Palestinian society, especially the youth. These implications of the Coronavirus pandemic led to an increase in the unemployment rate among the youth that is generally high in normal situations.
Thus, the unemployment rate among the youth (18-29 years) in Palestine reached 38% in 2019 (31% among males and 63% among females) as 63% in Gaza Strip and 23% in the West Bank. Data also showed that the higher unemployment percentage among the youth was for holders of intermediate diploma and higher, where this percentage reached 52% during 2019 (35% males and 68% female.
