The estimated number of children (under 18 years) is expected to be 2.35 million in Palestine by mid-2022, with 1.20 million males and 1.15 million females, representing 43.9% of the total population (41.7% in the West Bank, and 47.3% in Gaza Strip), according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) marking Palestinian Child Day, which coincides today.
Data also showed that there is a decline in the percentage of early marriage for those under the age of 18 for both sexes, where it reached 11.9% of the total number of registered marriages among females in 2020 (4.3% in the West Bank and 19.3% in Gaza Strip) compared with 24% in 2010. The percentage of early marriage among males under 18 years reached 0.5% of the total number of registered marriages in 2020 compared to 2% in 2010.
Data showed that the percentage of employed children (paid or unpaid) reached about 2.5% of the total number of children (10-17 years) in 2021: 3.8% in the West Bank and 0.9% in the Gaza Strip (4.8% male children and 0.2% female children).
Moreover, the percentage of children enrolled in schools and engaged in the labor market reached 0.9% (1.5% in the West Bank and 0.2% in Gaza Strip). As for gender distribution, the percentage was 1.7% for male children and 0.1% for female children in 2021.
The number of school students for the scholastic year 2020/2021 in Palestine reached about 1.34 million students, out of which 1.078 million were students in the elementary stage (50.8% males and 49.2% females), and 260,000 students in the secondary stage (45.0% males and 55.0% females).
The percentage of literate females is significantly higher than males, said the PCBS, as 52.7% of children aged 7-14 years demonstrate basic reading skills; of which 47.8% for males while it was 57.3% for females during 2019/2020. In the West Bank, 57.6% of the children were successful in obtaining basic reading skills while this percentage declined to 47.0% in Gaza Strip.
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