Children – Selected statistics on OPT – UNICEF report (excerpts)

UNICEF-occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)

Selected statistics Updated 1 December 2006

Child deaths

· At end-November, 121 children had been killed in the conflict since the beginning of 2006, far more than double last year’s total.

· Of them, 85 occurred in Gaza since 25 June; 70% were among adolescents aged 13-17.

· July’s child death toll – 40 – makes it the second most lethal month for children since the start of the Intifada.

· As of mid-November, one Israeli child had been killed due to the conflict.

Population

· Total population: 3.9 million; 2.4 million in the West Bank and 1.4 million in Gaza.

· Total child population: 2.2 million, including 1.4 million in the West Bank and 840,000 in the Gaza Strip.

· 100,000 children are born every year.

General

· 70% of households are below the poverty level.

· 31.1% are unemployed: 27.2% in West Bank and 39.6% in the Gaza Strip.

· There were 540 obstacles to movement including checkpoints, partial checkpoints, road blocks, earth mounts and gates as of November 2006, up from 376 the year before.

Health

· 3,000 children die every year from mainly preventable diseases.

· 10% of children are stunted: 11% in Gaza and 9% in West Bank.

Education

· 144 schools were disrupted during the scholastic year 2005/2006, affecting 64,712 students and 2,470 teachers.

· 58.9% of young people aged 10-24 years of age say their first concern is education.

Child Protection and Adolescents

· 340 Palestinian children remained in Israeli detention centers at end-November.

· ¼ of families say their children have behavioural problems such as difficulty concentrating in school, aggression or withdrawal.