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Palestine.
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 6,025 sq km of land, 64.93% of it agricultural and 87.38% of the people urban. Six World Heritage sites and nine inscribed living traditions.
Region · AsiaPopulation · 5.6 million at the end of 2025, 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in Gaza (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics). The World Bank estimates 5,413,596 for 2025. Both are given because the national bureau and the World Bank series do not agree.Languages · Arabic. Adult literacy is 97.94% (World Bank, 2024).Eco Index · 58/100 · Weak
64.93% agricultural land · 5.6 million residents (PCBS, end 2025)
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
The History of Palestine.
A settlement stood at the spring beside Jericho in the ninth millennium BC, with a wall, a ditch and a tower, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2023. The modern record runs through the Nakba of 1948 and, since 2012, six World Heritage inscriptions, alongside nine entries on the intangible heritage lists that begin with the Palestinian Hikaye in 2008.
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 6,025 sq km of land in total (World Bank, 2023). 87.38% of people live in urban areas (World Bank, 2025).
The timeline
9th millennium BC
Tell es-Sultan.
A permanent settlement emerges at the spring beside ancient Jericho, with fortification walls, a tower and trenches. UNESCO inscribed it in 2023 as Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, a settlement that by the ninth to eighth millennium BC already had a wall, a ditch and a tower. ↗
1948
The Nakba.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics puts the number of Palestinians in historic Palestine at 1.42 million in 1948 and tracks the dispersal that followed. About 5.6 million Palestinians live in the State of Palestine today, 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in Gaza. ↗
2008 onward
Nine practices inscribed.
UNESCO inscribes nine Palestinian practices on the intangible heritage lists, beginning with the Hikaye storytelling tradition in 2008 and running through embroidery and Arabic calligraphy in 2021, the date palm in 2022, metal engraving and Dabkeh in 2023, Nabulsi soap making and henna in 2024, and Arabic kohl in 2025. ↗
2012
Bethlehem, the first inscription.
The Birthplace of Jesus, the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem becomes the first site inscribed on the World Heritage List under the State of Palestine. ↗
2014
The terraces of Battir.
The Land of Olives and Vines, the cultural landscape of southern Jerusalem at Battir, is inscribed. The listing protects a living farming landscape, with stone terraces watered by spring-fed irrigation channels and planted with olives, vines and vegetables. ↗
2026
Sebastia, the sixth site.
Sebastia is inscribed on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, bringing Palestine to six World Heritage sites alongside Bethlehem, Battir, the Old City of Hebron, Ancient Jericho and Tell Umm el-Amr, the monastery of Saint Hilarion. ↗
1914 to today
A record kept from 1914.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics keeps its own population record reaching back to 1914, when it counts 0.63 million Palestinians in historic Palestine, against 7.41 million by the end of 2025. It counts 15.5 million Palestinians worldwide, 8.1 million of them in the diaspora. ↗
1990
Land and planning.
A 1990 study in the Journal of Palestine Studies by Rami S. Abdulhadi examines land use planning in the occupied Palestinian territories. ↗
Forest cover is 1.84% and 87.38% of people live in urban areas (World Bank, 2023 and 2025). Protected areas cover 10% of the land and none of the sea (World Bank, 2025). The living landscape here is farmed rather than wild: terraces, olives and vines.
Recorded in Palestine and named in the open record. Endemic status is stated per species, not implied by this list.
Ammoperdix heyi
Sand partridge. Recorded in Palestine in specimen-backed records held by GBIF.
Am
Levantina spiriplana
A land snail of the family Helicidae, described by Olivier in 1801. Recorded in Palestine in specimen-backed records held by GBIF.
Le
Helix engaddensis
A land snail of the family Helicidae, described by Bourguignat in 1852. Recorded in Palestine in specimen-backed records held by GBIF.
He
Recorded in Palestine and named in the open record via GBIF, from specimen-backed records. Endemic status is stated per species, not implied by this list.
About 165 cubic metres of renewable internal freshwater per person, with 41.23% of the resource already withdrawn (World Bank, 2021). That is severe water stress on the UN scale, and it is the single binding constraint on everything else.
Water
Groundwater and piped supply. 80.64% of people are on safely managed drinking water (World Bank, 2024), with only about 165 cubic metres per person of renewable resources.
How much fresh water does Palestine have, per person?
165 m³
Palestine
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
47.75% of renewable freshwater is already withdrawn (World Bank, 2021), which the UN classes as severe stress.
Which beaches in Palestine are named on the open map?
Named on the open map: Neve Midbar, Biankini, Minerals Beach and Metsoke Dragot, all on the Dead Sea shore of the West Bank. No beach on the Gaza coast carries a name on the open map, and UNEP reported in June 2024 that sewage was contaminating Gaza's beaches and coastal waters. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
73.5%
of people have safely managed sanitation
73.5% of people here use a safely managed sanitation service, meaning waste is contained, emptied and treated rather than reaching the ground or the water untreated (2024, World Bank / WHO UNICEF JMP, SDG 6.2.1). The rest is what the rivers and the coast receive.
Is the tap water safe in Palestine?
WHO and UNICEF estimate that 80.6 per cent of people in Palestine used safely managed drinking water in 2024, 81.9 per cent in towns and 76.4 per cent in rural areas. In Gaza the WHO has said salinity and nitrate levels in the groundwater are well above the guidelines for safe drinking water, and in March 2022, before the current war, the Palestinian Water Authority said only 35 per cent of people in Gaza could drink tap water at home. Where you are unsure of the source, drink bottled, boiled or filtered water.
How hard is the water supply being pushed?
Of every 10 buckets nature refills, 5 are already taken. Withdrawals run at 41.2% of what Palestine renews internally each year (2021, World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT). That is well above the 25% mark generally treated as water stress, so the supply is under strain.
How much fresh water does Palestine actually have?
About 165 cubic metres of renewable internal freshwater per person, among the lowest figures anywhere (World Bank, 2021).
Olives take 85% of the horticultural tree area and horticultural trees are 61.7% of all cropped land (PCBS, 2020/21). A 2025 review of food consumption in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria found that traditional diets drew most of their energy from cereals, with legumes as a main source of protein and oils such as olive oil as staples. Adult overweight is 68.8% (World Bank, 2022).
Where does the food in Palestine come from?
30.9% imported
about US$2,556m a year
On the plate: Olive oil, wheat, pulses, za'atar, vegetables
3 of 10
bites are imported
Palestine buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$2,556m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 30.9% of everything Palestine buys in from abroad is food, roughly 3 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2023, World Bank). Farming itself is 5.5% of the economy and 64.9% of the land is agricultural, while 7.0% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in Palestine? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined64.84%
Diabetes15.5%
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 68.8%.
Can Palestine feed itself?
7.0%
Arable land
64.9%
Agricultural land
88,251
Farmers
103,537
Arable acres
5.5%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Olives in October and November
Water first
47.75% of renewable freshwater is already withdrawn against 165 cubic metres per person (World Bank, 2021).
One dominant crop
Olives take 85% of the horticultural tree area, and horticultural trees are 61.7% of all cropped land (PCBS, 2020/21).
Organic is unmeasured
PCBS publishes no national certified organic area, so the sector cannot be scored on evidence.
Why the organic number looks like that. PCBS publishes no national certified organic area, so the organic sector is not formally measured. The olive terraces are rain-fed rather than irrigated intensive systems, which is a low input base.
The plant based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Palestine are tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, potatoes and aubergines (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2022). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy where residents buy: the old market streets of Nablus, Bethlehem's market, Ramallah city centre and the souqs of Jerusalem's Old City, where stalls sell herbs, spices and seasonal produce alongside family bakeries and coffee roasters. The central vegetable market of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Al-Hisba, a trading hub for more than fifty years, was reduced to ashes and rubble in May 2024, ICOMOS Palestine said, blaming Israeli forces.
Not yet checked by us. Plant based kitchens listed publicly: Secret Garden Cafe, vegan cafe in Bethlehem: organic coffee, breakfast, brunch and desserts inside a plant nursery; Zada Kitchen, vegan kitchen in Ramallah: delivery meals inspired by Palestinian cooking; Falafel Abu Samaha, vegetarian falafel shop in Ramallah; Asha'ab, Palestinian restaurant in Ramallah with a separate vegan and vegetarian menu; La Vie Ramallah, cafe restaurant in Ramallah with more than ten vegan dishes; Afteem Restaurant, falafel restaurant in Bethlehem serving hummus, falafel, moutabal and foul. Tell us how they are.
Renewables supplied 24.46% of electricity in 2021 against 75.54% fossil (World Bank), a notably high renewable share for the region, and 15.4% of total final energy consumption (World Bank, 2022). Access to electricity is 100% (World Bank, 2024).
What powers Palestine?
Renewable 24.5%Fossil 75.5%
The Palestinian Authority set up the Palestinian Electricity Transmission Company (PETL) as the single buyer of electricity. Under a 15 year agreement reached in 2018, PETL took over four high voltage substations built by Israel Electric Corporation and sole responsibility for supplying Palestinian customers, and the Palestinian Authority agreed to pay NIS 915 million of old electricity debt. The US Department of Commerce says Israel supplies about 940 MW of the West Bank's estimated 1,100 MW, five distribution companies operate there, and Gaza's power plant runs at partial capacity only because it relies on diesel.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
0.87 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.69 tonnes
The worst it ever got
0.89 tonnes
Water
About 165 cubic metres of renewable freshwater per person with 41.23% already withdrawn (World Bank, 2021), which is severe stress.
The terraces
Olives are 85% of the horticultural tree area (PCBS, 2020/21) and are rain-fed. Rainfall swings sharply from year to year, and both the olive crop and the World Heritage landscape at Battir depend on it.
Waste
Collection reaches 79% of households but recycling is left largely to private operators rather than the joint service councils.
What pollutes most here
Water abstraction
Untreated waste
Fossil electricity
Firsts on climate finance. The Green Climate Fund lists one project for Palestine, Water Banking and Adaptation of Agriculture to Climate Change in Northern Gaza (FP119), with US$27 million of GCF financing, plus US$5.5 million in readiness support. It adds alternative water sources for farming in Gaza to ease heat, low rainfall and drought. When the government and the French Development Agency signed the 24 million euro agreement, then Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said it was the first time Palestine had benefited from the fund.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in Palestine.
Data centres
3
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
24.5 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in Palestine?
Almost everything a machine here consumes is burned fossil fuel.
Renewable 24.5%Fossil 75.5%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 24.5% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Palestine has 3 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, alongside 2 internet exchanges (PIX Palestine, Palestine Internet Exchange Point - PSIX).
5.6 million residents at the end of 2025 (PCBS), 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in Gaza. 87.38% live in urban areas (World Bank, 2025).
Economy and tourism
93k
Visitors a year
0.0
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is Palestine?
55.9% of GDP
GDPUS$17.2 bn (2025)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing5.52% of GDP (2024)
Agricultural land64.93% of land area (2023)
Freshwater withdrawn41.23% of renewable resources (2021)
Olives
575,200 dunums under olives, 85% of the horticultural tree area (PCBS, 2020/21). The crop feeds both the kitchen and the export trade.
Agriculture
5.52% of GDP and 6.34% of employment (World Bank, 2024 and 2022) on 64.93% agricultural land.
Heritage
Six World Heritage sites and nine inscribed living traditions on 6,025 square kilometres.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Practical swaps that keep more of your money in the local economy
1. Buy the olive oil here Olives take 85% of the horticultural tree area. Buying the oil at source keeps the margin with the grower rather than the shipper.
2. Use water like a resident 165 cubic metres per person a year, with 41.23% already withdrawn. Water is the one thing a visitor can measurably take.
3. Buy inscribed craft Palestinian embroidery is on the UNESCO Representative List. Buy the stitched piece, not the printed copy of it.
4. Walk the terraces Battir is a World Heritage cultural landscape that exists because it is still farmed. Visiting it is the point of protecting it.
swipe →
First time here
6,025 square kilometres, 87.38% urban, and six World Heritage sites. Bethlehem, Battir, Hebron, Jericho, Tell Umm el-Amr and Sebastia.
Best time: the olive harvest, October and November
Landscape first
Battir is inscribed as a cultural landscape of olives and vines, protecting terraces and irrigation rather than a monument. It is farming you can walk through.
Agricultural land is 64.93%
Buying well
Olive oil is the product the land actually makes, on 575,200 dunums. Embroidery is inscribed by UNESCO. Both are made here rather than imported.
Buy the thing that is grown or stitched here
Society and Governance in Palestine.
Society
5.6 million people (PCBS, end 2025), 87.38% urban. Adult literacy is 97.94% (World Bank, 2024), among the highest in the Arab world, and everyone has access to electricity (World Bank, 2024). Life expectancy is 69.21 years and the Gini index is 36.4 (World Bank, 2023 and 2024).
How well is Palestine run? · each scored out of 100, higher is better
Income equality, scored 36 of 100
Gini index 36.4 (World Bank, 2023), more equal than many neighbours.
What is daily life in Palestine really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
WaterEnergyAirWasteCulture
·Freshwater available About 165 m3 per person with 41.23% withdrawn (World Bank, 2021). Severe stress.
✓Safe drinking water 80.64% on safely managed drinking water (World Bank, 2024).
✓Renewable grid 24.46% of electricity from renewables in 2021 (World Bank), high for the region.
✓Electricity access 100% (World Bank, 2024).
·Air quality, measured 22.39 ug/m3 PM2.5 (World Bank, 2023), above the WHO guideline.
·Recycling Collection reaches 79% of households but recycling is left to private operators.
✓Living heritage inscribed Nine elements on the UNESCO intangible heritage lists.
97.9%
literacy. Public spending on education runs at 5.4% of GDP (2021), and secondary enrolment stands at 89.1% gross (2023) (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, via World Bank).
Culture in Palestine.
October and November
The olive harvest
The working season on 575,200 dunums of olives, 85% of the horticultural tree area (PCBS, 2020/21). UN OCHA calls the harvest a key economic, social and cultural event, and says between 80,000 and 100,000 families rely on olives and olive oil for income.
Year round
Living heritage inscribed by UNESCO
Nine practices are on the UNESCO intangible heritage lists, from the Hikaye storytelling tradition in 2008 to embroidery and Arabic calligraphy in 2021, Dabkeh in 2023, Nabulsi soap making in 2024 and Arabic kohl in 2025.
Does Palestine protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. Nine practices on the UNESCO intangible lists, from the Hikaye in 2008 to embroidery in 2021, Dabkeh in 2023, Nabulsi soap in 2024 and Arabic kohl in 2025.
Where it is rooted. Battir is inscribed as a cultural landscape of olives and vines, which protects a working farming system rather than a monument.
How old. A settlement with a wall, a ditch and a tower stood at Tell es-Sultan beside Jericho in the ninth millennium BC, inscribed by UNESCO in 2023.
Three futures for Palestine, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: The Palestinian Museum (Birzeit), Palestine Museum of Natural History (Bethlehem), Baituna Al Talhami Museum (Bethlehem), Al-Bad Museum for Olive Oil Production (Bethlehem), Mahmoud Darwish Museum (Ramallah), Sebastia Museum (Sebastia), Al Qarara Cultural Museum (Gaza Strip). OpenStreetMap.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
+22%
Forest cover
1990: 1.51% → 2024: 1.84%
Renewable electricity
2000: 0% → 2021: 24.5%
+19%
Protected land
2017: 8.4% → 2025: 10%
+8%
Safely managed drinking water
2000: 74.6% → 2024: 80.6%
+5%
PM2.5 air pollution
1990: 21.3 ug/m3 → 2023: 22.4 ug/m3
-18%
Agricultural land
1961: 79.6% → 2024: 64.9%
+98%
Urban population
1960: 44.2% → 2025: 87.4%
+2%
Life expectancy
1990: 67.8 yrs → 2024: 69.2 yrs
+2%
Access to electricity
1997: 97.9% → 2024: 100%
-56%
Employment in agriculture
1991: 14.5% → 2022: 6.34%
-58%
Agriculture share of GDP
1994: 13.3% → 2024: 5.52%
+174%
Population
1990: 1,978,248 → 2025: 5,413,596
Internet use
1990: 0% → 2023: 86.6%
+68%
Diabetes
2011: 9.2 % of adults → 2024: 15.5 % of adults
-60%
Freshwater per person
1990: 410 m3 → 2021: 165 m3
4
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 1.51% to 1.84% across 34 recorded years.
World Bank, Forest area (% of land area) (AG.LND.FRST.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS?locations=PS
How clean is the grid?
Renewable electricity moved from 0% to 24.5% across 21 recorded years.
World Bank, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) (EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS?locations=PS
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 8.4% to 10% across 8 recorded years.
World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) (ER.LND.PTLD.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.LND.PTLD.ZS?locations=PS
Can people drink the water?
Safely managed drinking water moved from 74.6% to 80.6% across 24 recorded years.
World Bank, People using safely managed drinking water services (% of population) (SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS?locations=PS
How clean is the air?
PM2.5 air pollution moved from 21.3 ug/m3 to 22.4 ug/m3 across 33 recorded years.
World Bank, PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter) (EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3?locations=PS
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 79.6% to 64.9% across 63 recorded years.
World Bank, Agricultural land (% of land area) (AG.LND.AGRI.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS?locations=PS
How urban is it?
Urban population moved from 44.2% to 87.4% across 65 recorded years.
World Bank, Urban population (% of total population) (SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=PS
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 67.8 yrs to 69.2 yrs across 34 recorded years.
World Bank, Life expectancy at birth, total (years) (SP.DYN.LE00.IN) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=PS
Does everyone have power?
Access to electricity moved from 97.9% to 100% across 27 recorded years.
World Bank, Access to electricity (% of population) (EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?locations=PS
How many people farm?
Employment in agriculture moved from 14.5% to 6.34% across 31 recorded years.
World Bank, Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?locations=PS
How much of the economy is farming?
Agriculture share of GDP moved from 13.3% to 5.52% across 30 recorded years.
World Bank, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) (NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS?locations=PS
How many people?
Population moved from 1,978,248 to 5,413,596 across 35 recorded years.
World Bank, Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=PS
Who is online?
Internet use moved from 0% to 86.6% across 33 recorded years.
World Bank, Individuals using the Internet (% of population) (IT.NET.USER.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=PS
How common is diabetes?
Diabetes moved from 9.2 % of adults to 15.5 % of adults across 13 recorded years.
World Bank, Diabetes prevalence (% of population ages 20 to 79) (SH.STA.DIAB.ZS) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.DIAB.ZS?locations=PS
How much water is there?
Freshwater per person moved from 410 m3 to 165 m3 across 31 recorded years.
World Bank, Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters) (ER.H2O.INTR.PC) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.H2O.INTR.PC?locations=PS
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, food and farming at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: Worst case holds the weak pillars where they are and assumes the strong ones erode.
Current path
Renewables were 24.46% of electricity in 2021, a high share regionally, and everyone has grid access. The trajectory that matters is water: 41.23% of renewable resources already withdrawn against 165 cubic metres a head.
Computed from: Every figure on this page is a published national or World Bank series, dated and linked in the sources list.
Best case
The pledges are met on their own stated timetables and the weakest pillars are lifted to match the strongest. Palestine already shows it can do this: plant-based eating scores 5/5.
Computed from: Best case assumes the weakest pillars are lifted to the level already achieved by the strongest here.
What the best case actually asks for
Lift food and farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Palestine's record. Olives dominate the land: 575,200 dunums are under olives, 85.0% of the entire horticultural tree area, and horticultural trees make up 61.7% of all cropped land (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020/2021).
measured each year
Costs: sorting and treatment capacity, not collection
Lift energy
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Palestine's record. Renewables supplied 24.46% of electricity in 2021 against 75.54% fossil (World Bank), a notably high renewable share for the region, and 15.4% of total final energy consumption (World Bank, 2022). Access to electricity is 100% (World Bank, 2024).
by 2030
Costs: land designation in a territory of 6,025 sq km
Lift water
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Palestine's record. Renewable internal freshwater is about 165 cubic metres per person and withdrawals already take 47.75% of it (World Bank, 2021), which is severe water stress by UN thresholds. 80.64% of people are on safely managed drinking water (World Bank, 2024).
continuous
Costs: water allocation
Government and Goals in Palestine.
Who is in charge of Palestine now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
Mohammad Mustafa
Prime Minister
Mohammad Mustafa is the prime minister of the State of Palestine, appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas and sworn in on 31 March 2024. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Palestine national goals: What has been signed up to · Targets are from the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Status is measured against the World Bank protected-area series on this page.
2030
30% of land protected
a third of the way
Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Protected land is 10% (World Bank, 2025). ↗
2030
30% of sea protected
not started
The marine half of the same pledge. Protected territorial waters stand at 0% (World Bank, 2025). ↗
ongoing
Safeguard living heritage
nine inscribed
Nine practices are inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage lists between 2008 and 2025, from the Hikaye to Arabic kohl. ↗
2014
Protect the terraced landscape
inscribed
Battir was inscribed as Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines, a World Heritage cultural landscape that protects a working farming system. ↗
How Palestine Ranks, region and world.
Where Palestine sits on the Eco Index, against its Asia neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
Palestine sits 58 of 77 at 58/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking →
Similar countries doing it better and worse
Sri LankaScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.65
IndiaScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.67
ThailandScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.62
PalestineThis page.58
LaosScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.63
JordanScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.50
A note from the lens of mother natureswipe →
Food and farming, 1/5
Olives dominate the land: 575,200 dunums are under olives, 85.0% of the entire horticultural tree area, and horticultural trees make up 61.7% of all cropped land (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020/2021). Agricultural land covers 64.93% of the territory (World Bank, 2023), an unusually high share.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Palestine's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Energy, 1/5
Renewables supplied 24.46% of electricity in 2021 against 75.54% fossil (World Bank), a notably high renewable share for the region, and 15.4% of total final energy consumption (World Bank, 2022). Access to electricity is 100% (World Bank, 2024).
Water, 2/5
Renewable internal freshwater is about 165 cubic metres per person and withdrawals already take 47.75% of it (World Bank, 2021), which is severe water stress by UN thresholds. 80.64% of people are on safely managed drinking water (World Bank, 2024).
The Palestine Directory.
Everything on My Ideal World that sits in Palestine, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Palestine
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Agricultural land
64.93%
World Bank, 2023.
Forest cover
1.68%
World Bank, 2023.
Protected land
10%
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
0%
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable electricity
24.46%
World Bank, 2021.
Fossil electricity
75.54%
World Bank, 2021.
Freshwater per person
165 m3
World Bank, 2021.
Freshwater withdrawn
41.23%
World Bank, 2021. Severe stress.
Safely managed drinking water
80.64%
World Bank, 2024.
PM2.5
22.39 ug/m3
World Bank, 2023.
Olives, share of tree crops
85%
PCBS, 2020/21.
Agriculture share of GDP
5.52%
World Bank, 2024.
Urban population
87.38%
World Bank, 2025.
Adult literacy
97.94%
World Bank, 2024.
Access to electricity
100%
World Bank, 2024.
World Heritage sites
6
UNESCO, 2012 to 2025.
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 61 sources across 18 institutions
World Bank15 FIGURES
Population, total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 (5,413,596) check
Percentage Distribution for Area of Bearing and Unbearing Horticulture Trees in Palestine by Type of Crop and Region, They are 85% of the horticultural tree area, the basis of the Battir World Heritage listing, and they depend o check
Percentage Distribution for Area of Bearing and Unbearing Horticulture Trees in Palestine by Type of Crop and Region corroboration check
Percentage Distribution for Area of Bearing and Unbearing Horticulture Trees in Palestine by Type of Crop and Region corroboration check
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage8 FIGURES
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists, Nine elements are inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage lists, from the Palestinian Hikaye storytelling check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
State of Palestine, Elements on the Lists corroboration check
World Bank Open Data API5 FIGURES
Agricultural land (% of land area), West Bank and Gaza, Six World Heritage sites, nine inscribed living traditions, 64.93% agricultural land and 24.46% renewable elec check
Agricultural land (% of land area), West Bank and Gaza corroboration check
Land area (sq. km), West Bank and Gaza corroboration check
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters), West Bank and Gaza, About 165 cubic metres of renewable internal freshwater per person, among the lowest figures anywhere (World B check
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters), West Bank and Gaza corroboration check
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC2 FIGURES
UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Palestine, 2025 (23.5%), country-reported check
UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Palestine, 2025 (48.0%), country-reported check
UNESCO2 FIGURES
State of Palestine, intangible cultural heritage elements check
The art of embroidery in Palestine (inscribed 2021) check
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme2 FIGURES
UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed drinking water (%) SH_H2O_SAFE, Palestine, 2024 (80.6%), modelled estimate check
UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed sanitation (%) SH_SAN_SAFE, Palestine, 2024 (73.5%), modelled estimate check
Abdulhadi1 FIGURE
Land Use Planning in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Journal of Palestine Studies check
About 50th of 207 reporting economies globally1 FIGURE
but second among Arab states and far above the Arab World average of 78.99% check
Sri LankaScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.65
IndiaScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.67
ThailandScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.62
PalestineThis page.58
LaosScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.63
JordanScored on the same twelve pillars as Palestine.50
