Demographic history of Palestine (region)

Palestine demographics, 1st century through the Mandate.
Figures in thousands, i.e. 100 represents 100,000, 1,000 represents 1,000,000.
See also the detailed timeline
Year Jews Christians Muslims Total
1st c. Majority – – ~1,250
4th c. Majority Minority – >1st c.[1][2]
5th c. Minority Majority – >1st c.
End 12th c. Minority Minority Majority >225
14th c. Minority Minority Majority 150
1533–1539 5 6 145 156
1553–1554 7 9 188 205
1690–1691 2 11 219 232
1800 7 22 246 275
1890 43 57 432 532
1914 94 70 525 689
1922 84 71 589 752
1931 175 89 760 1,033
1947 630 143 1,181 1,970
Estimates by Sergio DellaPergola (2001), drawing on the work of Bachi (1975). Figures in thousands.[3]

The population of the region of Palestine, which approximately corresponds to modern Israel and the Palestinian territories, has varied in both size and ethnic composition throughout the history of Palestine.

Studies of Palestine's demographic changes over the millennia have shown that a Jewish majority in the first century AD had changed to a Christian majority by the 3rd century AD,[4] and later to a Muslim majority, which is thought to have existed in Mandatory Palestine (1920-1948) since at least the 12th century AD, during which the total shift to Arabic language was completed.[5]

  1. ^ An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations by Edward Kessler P72
  2. ^ The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period By William David Davies, Louis Finkelstein, P:409
  3. ^ Pergola, Sergio della (2001). "Demography in Israel/Palestine: Trends, Prospects, Policy Implications" (PDF). Semantic Scholar. S2CID 45782452. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CHJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference LeStrange1890 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).