Over the past year, data has been released from the population census conducted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2017. The information is published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, and is divided according to district, with Judea and Samaria considered separately from the Gaza Strip. It is interesting to consider the ownership of durable goods among the Palestinian population residing in the area under the auspices of the PA in Judea and Samaria.
Among the products examined, the most commonly found were refrigerators and ovens, which are present in 97% of 531,600 households in Judea and Samaria. It is noteworthy that the rate of ownership of most of the goods is the same within the urban and the rural populations. Most households (95%) also have a washing machine; however, dryers are relatively rare, and found only in 9% of the households. For comparison’s sake, in Israel as a whole, clothes dryers are found in about 38% of households, while in Jerusalem the rate is 45%.

Data about IT is also published, and according to these statistics 88% of Palestinian households have a smartphone, 19% have a computer, 31% have a laptop and 19% own a tablet.

Another interesting product is the air conditioner, which is found in 34% of Palestinian households in Judea and Samaria. In Israel in 2017, 92% of households were equipped with an air conditioner. In Jerusalem as well, where the climate is relatively similar to that of Judea and Samaria, the rate of households where an air conditioner is to be found (72%) is significantly higher than the rate among the Palestinian households in those areas. If we take a look at the statistics from previous years, we see that just over a decade ago, in 2008, the rate of Jerusalem households which boasted an air conditioner was 36%, which is similar to the rate among Palestinians in Judea and Samaria today. And so it may be said that in terms of the rate of market penetration of this product, Jerusalem is about a decade ahead of the Palestinian localities in Judea and Samaria.

Translated by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann