RAMALLAH, March 7, 2017 (WAFA) – The population in Palestine were estimated at 4.88 million at the end 2016, including 2.48 million males (50.8%) and 2.40 million females (49.2%), whereas the sex ratio stood at 103.3, which means that there are 103 males for every 100 females, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

PCBS said the percentage of female-headed households in Palestine was 11.0% in 2016, 12.1% in the West Bank and 9.0% in Gaza Strip.

One fifth of the persons (21.4%) got married at an early age (less than 18 years)

Early marriage reached to 20.3% among females and 1.1% among males of the total married population in Palestine; the rate was 19.7% out of the total married population in West Bank and 23.7% out of the total married population in Gaza Strip at the end of 2015.

The highest rate of female early marriage in the West Bank was in Hebron 36.2%, and the lowest was in Jericho and the Jordan Valley 1.3% out of the total number of women marriage below 18 years in the West Bank. In Gaza Strip, the highest rate of early female marriage was 40.8% in Gaza Governorate, while the lowest rate was in Dier Al-Balah 6.9% out of the total number of women marriage below 18 years in Gaza Strip.

About 62% of females aged 18 years and above are married

Married females represented 62.3% of the total female population aged 18 and above in 2016; 26.4% have not been married before, 6.6% were widows, 2.0% divorced and the percentage of females engaged for the first time represented 2.7%.

Continued rise in literacy among women

Despite the rise in literacy rates among females over the last decade, the gap is still in favor of males by 3.4%. Female literacy rates was 95.2% compared to 98.6% for male literacy in the year 2016.

Rise in enrollment rate of females in high schools compared to males

Data showed that male enrollment in high schools was 58.7%, compared to female enrollment which was 78.6% for the year 2015-2016.

A gap in the participation rate and average daily wages between men and women

The female participation rate in the labor force was 19.3% of the total female population at work age in 2016, compared to 10.3% in 2001, while the male participation rate was 71.6% in 2016. There was also a pay gap in the average daily wages between males and females; the average daily wage for females was NIS 83.3 compared to NIS 114.1 for males.

About half of women with 13 schooling years and above are unemployed

The unemployment rate among women participant in the labor force was 44.7%, compared to 22.2% for males. Unemployment rate among women with 13 school years and above is standing at 50.6% of women in this group.

Gender gap in favor to males for graduates transition from school to the labor market

Data showed that the rate of females (aged 15-29) who moved from school to the labor market was 6.6%, compared to 44.8% of the males. Females who have not started the transition constituted 58.5%, compared to 25.0% of males. The percentage of women who went through the transition were 34.9%, compared to 30.2% of males, during the year 2015.

Palestinian Women in Public Life

In 2015, 82.8% of judges were male, compared to 17.2% female, while 77.5% of registered lawyers were male, compared to 22.5% female and 83.3% of members of the public prosecution staff were male, compared to 16.7% female. Furthermore, Palestinian female ambassadors represented 5.8% compared to 94.2% male.

Females represented 21.1% of registered engineers with the Union of Engineers while male represented 78.9%. On the other hand, in 2015, 23.2% of members of students councils in West Bank universities were females, compared to 76.8% males. In the public sector, females was 42.6% of posts, compared to 57.4% males. In the civil sector, females represented 11.7% of the directors general, compared to 88.3% of males in the same post

M.N