Palestine

PALESTINE

A. THE COUNTRY

The Palestine Authority, in Asia, is comprised of two separate parts –
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  the Palestinian Authority is allowed
to extend its jurisdiction to increasingly more towns and rural areas.
Jewish settler enclaves and Israeli military authorities control the
rest.  The struggles continue.  There are Jewish settlements in the
Palestinian areas and Palestinians in Israel itself with both sides
feeling strong claim to the land.  Also, each claim Jerusalem as their
exclusive capital.  With Israel’s economic controls, much of the
Palestinian economic activity is limited to small family businesses.
Estimates are that 70% of Gaza lives in deep poverty and 80% are
dependent upon external aid.

B. THE PEOPLE

The population is ~4,410,000 and the official language Arabic.
Palestine exiles make up 61% of all Palestinians, who have mostly lived
for generations in refugee camps (breeding grounds for extremism).
All Palestinians number over 10 million globally.  This includes 2.2 to
3.0 million in Jordan, over 1 million in Israel and a large number in
the Middle East and the West. 
~92.3% are Arabs, ~6.3% Jews, ~1.4% Other (Westerners, Gypsy).

C. RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIANITY/PENTECOSTALISM

Israeli occupation and Islamic persecution squeeze out the dwindling
Christian minority.
~87.69% are Muslim ~8.5% Jewish, ~2.2% Other, ~1.61% claim to be
Christian.  In the Christian Category:
~0.9% are Orthodox, ~0.39% Catholic, ~0.2% Unaffiliated, ~0.06%
Protestant, ~0.04% Independent, ~0.01% Anglican,
~0.01% are grouped as ‘marginal’.
Evangelicals represent ~0.1% of the population.
Charismatics represent ~0.1% and of those <0.1% are Pentecostals.

Donna Siemens

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org

Operation World, Jason Mandryk. Colorado Springs: Biblica Publishing, 2010.