According to a Palestinian census, the population of Gaza jumped by 40 percent between 1997 and 2007. West Bank officials expect the Gaza population, which they estimate at 1.4 million, to double over the next 21 years.

The growth rate in Gaza is roughly three times the global average, according to U.N. estimates.

Most of Gaza’s residents are U.N.-registered refugees.

With the Palestinian population booming and a two-state solution slipping further and further away, the world waits to see whether Israel will institutionalize apartheid or give the occupied a vote and risk losing the Jewish state.

There are no good options without an independent Palestinian state.

BBC:

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated the annual growth rate at 3.3% and said the population would double in 21 years at that rate.

The UN estimates the world’s current average population growth at 1.17%.

In a statement, the West Bank-based bureau said: “Assuming a stable growth during the coming years, the Gaza Strip population will multiply [double] in 21 years.”

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