Daily Briefing On Palestine III.

Prepared by Meta on the evening of October 18, 2026.
Posted at 9:04 pm North American Pacific Time
Updated at 2118 hrs PT

From Google Search

Population Breakdown (1947)

• Total Population of Palestine: ~1.8 to 1.97 million [1, 2]

• Palestinian Arabs (Muslims and Christians): ~1.2 million to 1.3 million (approx. 67% of the total)

  • Muslim population: ~1.14 million

  • Christian population: ~130,000–140,000 [1, 2, 3, 4]

• Jewish Population: ~600,000 (approx. 31% to 33% of the total) [1, 2]
  The 1947 demographic figures represent the period of Mandatory Palestine, a territory administered by the United Kingdom under a League of Nations mandate.

  Because these figures were compiled prior to the termination of the British Mandate and the subsequent proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948, they are considered "pre-Israel" or "pre-1948" statistics.
  
  How the British Compiled These Numbers

  The British administration tracked the population through a combination of official census data and ongoing statistical updates: [1, 2]

  • Official Censuses: The British Mandate conducted two comprehensive physical censuses across Palestine, the first in 1922 and the second in 1931. [1]

  • Statistical Extrapolations: Plans for a 1941 census were canceled due to World War II. To keep data current, the British Government's Office of Statistics continuously updated their records by factoring in birth rates, death rates, and legal immigration records. [1]

  • The 1945–1946 Surveys: In preparation for the United Nations' review of the region's future, the British government compiled these records into definitive reference documents, most notably the Village Statistics of 1945 and the multi-volume A Survey of Palestine (prepared in 1946). [1, 2]

  The figures cited for 1947 are demographical projections based directly on these official British records right before the United Nations voted on the partition plan in November 1947. [1, 2]