About Palestinian Christians

 Do we know how many Palestinians are Christian in Israel and/or the West Bank?

Yes, we have reliable demographic figures, though the totals depend on how geographic boundaries and citizenship status are defined. Across Israel and the West Bank, there are approximately 195,000 to 200,000 Palestinian Christians, tracing their origins to some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The population is divided between Arab citizens of Israel and residents of the occupied Palestinian territories. [1, 2]

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1. In Israel: ~145,000 Palestinian Christians

Data released by the ⁠Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reports that there are approximately 184,200 Christian residents living inside Israel. [1, 2]

• The Palestinian/Arab Segment: Roughly 79% of these Christians (about 145,000 people) are ethnically Arab/Palestinian. The remaining 21% are non-Arab immigrants (such as Eastern European Christians who arrived under the Law of Return). [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Primary Locations: The majority of Arab Christians in Israel live in the northern Galilee region and mixed cities. The highest concentrations are in Nazareth (~18,900), Haifa (~18,800), and Nof HaGalil (~10,800). [1, 2, 3, 4]

2. In the West Bank: ~45,000 to 50,000 Palestinian Christians

According to datasets from the ⁠Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and independent tracking by the ⁠U.S. State Department, there are about 45,000 to 50,000 Christians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. [1, 2, 3]

• Demographic Share: They account for roughly 1% to 1.5% of the total Palestinian population in the West Bank.
• Primary Locations: The community is heavily urbanized and concentrated in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and East Jerusalem. (Note: Demographic surveys often count East Jerusalem's roughly 13,000 Christians under the West Bank for Palestinian ethnic datasets, though Israel counts them in its municipal figures). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Demographic Comparison At-A-Glance

Region	Estimated Palestinian Christian Population	% of Local Arab Population	Major Denominations Present
Israel	~145,000	~6.8%	Greek Catholic (Melkite), Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Maronite
West Bank	~45,000 – 50,000	~1.5%	Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican

Notable Demographic Trends

• Shrinking Proportions: Before 1948, Christians made up more than 10% of the historic Palestinian population. While the overall number of Christians inside Israel has gradually risen due to natural growth, their percentage relative to the fast-growing Muslim and Jewish populations has declined. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Emigration: The Christian population in the West Bank faces a continuous contraction. Reports from international watchdogs like the Minority Rights Group attribute this decline to high rates of emigration driven by the economic hardships, movement restrictions, and security concerns associated with the ongoing geopolitical conflict. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• The Situation in Gaza: Separately, the Christian community in the Gaza Strip—which stood at roughly 1,000 people before October 2023—has sharply dwindled to an estimated 500 people due to wartime displacement and casualties. [1, 2]