Palestine Economy Overview
| Basic data | |
| Capital | Ramallah (seat of administration) |
| Population | 5.29 million |
| Language | Arabic |
| Religion | Islam (99%), Christianity (1%) |
| State system | republic |
| Head of State | Mahmoud Abbas |
| Head of government | Mohamed Shtayyeh |
| Currency name | Israeli Shekel (ILS), US Dollar (USD), Jordanian Dinar (JOD) |
| Travel | |
| Time shift | +1 hour (summer and winter time) |
| Economy | 2021 |
| Nominal GDP (billion USD) | 17 |
| Economic growth (%) | 6.2 |
| Inflation (%) | 1.2 |
| Unemployment (%) | 25 |
According to Commit4fitness.com, the Palestinian Autonomous Territories (PAT) represent two territorially and politically separate entities, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is administered by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), headed by President Mahmoud Abbas. In addition, a significant part of the territory of the West Bank (approx. 60%, the so-called territory C) is under the direct administration of Israel and 450 thousand Israeli citizens live here. Israel controls the external borders of Palestine, collects import duties and taxes in favor of the PNS, and all imports are subject to the approval of the Israeli authorities. The Gaza Strip is controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, access to this territory is largely also controlled by Israel. Parliament has been dysfunctional for a long time, laws are provisionally issued in the form of presidential decrees. Parliamentary and presidential elections have been repeatedly postponed, most recently in 2021, a new date is not yet in sight.
The Palestinian economy was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP falling by almost 12% during 2020. A significant recovery occurred during 2021, but a return to pre-pandemic levels is not expected until 2024 at the earliest. Even before the pandemic, Palestine was struggling with slow economic growth that lagged behind population growth. The trade balance is significantly negative, by far Palestine’s largest trading partner is Israel, however, the statistics are distorted by the fact that at the same time most trade with third countries takes place through Israel. Palestine strives both to reduce the trade deficit and to diversify imports.
The total volume of trade with the Czech Republic in 2021 reached almost 659 million CZK, of which Czech exports represent 98.8%, imports from Palestine to the Czech Republic are negligible. Compared to previous years, this is a fundamental increase, but there has been no fundamental change in the structure of Czech exports to Palestine, as in previous years it is dominated by passenger cars. The potential for the development of trade relations exists on the one hand in the import of many types of especially consumer goods, and on the other hand in involvement in infrastructure projects (e.g. in the field of water management or energy), which are financed mainly from sources of development cooperation and international development financial institutions.
Practical telephone numbers (emergency services, police, firemen, information lines, etc.)
Phone Numbers:
Police: 100
Red Crescent (Emergency Service): 101
Civil protection (firemen): 102
Faults: 166
Info on phone numbers: 144
Info for subscribers of the telephone network: 199
Note: The listed numbers are identical to telephone numbers in Israel, a person in need can call Palestinian numbers only from fixed lines of the Palestinian Paltel network or the Palestinian mobile operator Jawwal (or by roaming from the Israeli Orange to Jawwal).
Important web links and contacts
Authorities of the Palestinian National Authority (PNS):
- Office of the President: president.ps
- Prime Minister’s Office: palestinecabinet.gov.ps
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: mofa.pna.ps
- Ministry of Finance: pmof.ps
- Ministry of National Economy: mne.gov.ps
- Ministry of Labour: mol.pna.ps
- Palestinian Monetary Authority: pma.ps
- Palestinian Water Authority: pwa.ps
- Palestine Energy and Natural Resources Authority: penra.gov.ps
- Palestine Bureau of Statistics: pcbs.gov.ps
- Palestinian investment promotion agency: pipa.ps
Chambers of industry, business associations and consulting firms:
- Palestinian Trade Center: paltrade.org
- Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture: pal-chambers.org
- Palestinian Development and Investment Company (PADICO): padico.com
- Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR): pecdar.ps
- Palestinian Business Association: pba.ps
- Palestinian Federation of Industries: pfi.ps
- Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association: asala-pal.org
International organizations operating in Palestine:
- ICRC (Int. Committee of the Red Cross): icrc.org
- IMF (Int. Monetary Fund): imf.org
- UNDP (UN Development Programme): undp.org
- UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund): unicef.org
- UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East): unrwa.org
- UNSCO (UN Special Coord. in the Occupied Territories): unsco.unmissions.org
- World Bank: worldbank.org
- WHO (World Health Organization): who.int
- Office of the Quartet: quartetoffice.org
- EU Representation: eeas.europa.eu
Information Sources:
- Palestinian News Agency WAFA: english.wafa.ps
- Palestine Economy Portal: palestineeconomy.ps
- Palestine News Network: english.pnn.ps
- MAS (Economic Policy Research Institute): mas.ps
- Tourist portal: travelpalestine.ps
Main media (in Arabic):
- Palestine TV: pbc.ps
- Al-Ayyam: al-ayyam.ps
- Al-Hayyat Al-Jadeedah: alhaya.ps
- Al-Quds: alquds.com
- Ma’an News Agency: maannews.net
