GAZA REFUGEE CAMP PROFILES

CAMP NUMBER OF
REGISTERED REFUGEES
Jabalia 106,846
Rafah 97,412
Beach 80,567
Nuseirat 58,727
Khan Younis 61,539
Bureij 29,805
Maghazi 23,161
Deir el-Balah 20,215
Total 478,272

[click on each camp name on the map for a profile of the camp]
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The Gaza Strip is unique amongst UNRWA's five fields of operations as the majority of its population is refugees and over half of the refugees live in eight camps. Most of the people who fled to the Gaza Strip as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war were from Jaffa, towns and villages south of Jaffa, and from the Beersheva area in the Negev. In all, some 200,000 refugees came to Gaza, whose original inhabitants numbered only 80,000. Such an influx severely burdened this narrow strip of land; an area of only 360 square kilometers. Over three-quarters of the current estimated population of some 1.4 million are registered refugees; representing 22.42 per cent of all UNRWA registered Palestine refugees.

The refugee camps in the Gaza Strip have one of the highest population densities in the world. For example, over 80,688 refugees live in Beach camp whose area is less than one square kilometer. This high population density is reflected in the overcrowded UNRWA schools and classrooms. More than 2,066 new pupils registered in the Agency's schools for the year 2004/2005. In average, 81% of the camps houses are connected to sewers while total area of paved roads and alleys is 385,000m2 .

UNRWA Headquarters (Gaza) and the UNRWA Gaza Field Office are located in Gaza City. The Agency co-operates its humanitarian work with the Palestinian Authority, which was established in 1994.

FACTS AND FIGURES

  • Number of schools: 187
  • Student enrolment: 7,274
  • Number of primary health care facilities: 18
  • Annual medical and dental patient visits (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006): 3,029,474
  • Refugees registered with UNRWA’s “special hardship” programme: 86,971
  • Number of community rehabilitation centres: 7
  • Number of women’s programme centres: 10
  • Number of vocational and technical training centres:1
  • Vocational and technical training places: 1,044
  • Number of microfinance and microenterprise loans awarded: 81,065
  • Cumulative value of loans awarded: $ 81.2 million
Figures as of 31 December 2006