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Location of Palestine on the globe

Palestine

PS

Western Asia

Palestine is home to 3 documented ethnic groups in Western Asia — led by Palestinian (~99%), Palestine Other (~2%), Samaritan Palestine (~0%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
PalestinianPalestinian98.5%Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2017 Census plus subsequent estimates; Palestinians (~98.5%, ~5.4M+ in West Bank and Gaza Strip combined). Predominantly Sunni Muslim (~93% of West Bank and Gaza population) with Christian (~6%, predominantly concentrated in the Bethlehem-Beit Jala-Beit Sahour-Ramallah area, plus the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem) and smaller Druze and other religious sub-populations
Palestine OtherPalestine Other1.5%Estimates residual; includes Palestinian-Armenian (the historic Armenian community of the Jerusalem Old City Armenian Quarter, ~3,000-5,000+), Palestinian-Romani / Domari, plus the Israeli-settler populations in the West Bank (~700,000+ Israeli settlers in the West Bank including East Jerusalem; the settler population is enumerated separately from the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics figures and is documented under Israeli demographic data)
Samaritan PalestineSamaritan Palestine0.0%Palestinian Bureau of Statistics; Palestinian Samaritans (~400+, half of the global Samaritan community of ~830+; concentrated on Mount Gerizim near Nablus); the historic Samaritan religious community that descends from a distinct Israelite sub-population. Cross-border population shared with Israeli Samaritans of Holon

Palestine Phenotype Profile

Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza Strip combined, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-administered territories) has a demographic structure dominated by Palestinian Arabs (~98.5%) with the very small Samaritan community (~400+) plus other smaller communities. The Palestinian population was estimated at approximately 5.4 million in the West Bank and Gaza pre-October 2023 with substantial demographic disruption since the post-October-2023 Israel-Hamas war that has produced documented mass civilian casualties (estimated 45,000+ Palestinian deaths in Gaza by 2024) and substantial displacement.

Genome-wide studies place Palestinian populations as showing substantial Levantine source-population continuity. Skin tone Fitzpatrick III-V modal IV. Hair predominantly straight to wavy black to dark brown. Eye color predominantly brown with some hazel and rarely lighter variants. Adult Palestinian male mean stature approximately 173-176 cm.

The broader Palestinian global community (~14-15M+) is enumerated under the palestinian slug at /country/israel — including the substantial Palestinian populations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the global diaspora. The full Palestinian phenotype description is in the palestinian entry.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Palestine population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are derived from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2017 Census plus subsequent estimates. The political status of Palestine is contested — the West Bank is partially under Palestinian Authority administration plus partially under Israeli military occupation; the Gaza Strip was under Hamas administration 2007-2024 with Israeli blockade plus the post-October-2023 Israeli military operation. Caveats: (1) the 2017 Census did not fully include East Jerusalem (the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem is approximately 350,000+ predominantly with Israeli permanent-resident status rather than citizenship); (2) the post-October-2023 demographic disruption has substantially altered Gaza Strip demographics; (3) the Israeli settler population in the West Bank is enumerated under Israeli demographic data rather than Palestinian Bureau of Statistics; (4) the broader Palestinian diaspora globally (~14-15M+) is captured at /country/israel under the palestinian slug.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017. Ramallah: PCBS; 2018.
  2. 2.Khalidi R. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017. Metropolitan Books; 2020.
  3. 3.Pappé I. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oneworld; 2006.
  4. 4.Anderson B. Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy. Cambridge University Press; 2018.
  5. 5.Schur N. History of the Samaritans. Peter Lang; 1989.

Other countries in Western Asia

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Western Asia nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Western Asiaethnic groups & countries →