Palestine: Flag and Facts

About Palestine

Land here is limited. The listed area is 6,220 square kilometers, and the coastal strip near the Mediterranean is mostly flat to rolling plain covered in sand and dunes. The highest point, Abu 'Awdah, rises only 105 meters. Winters are mild, and summers run from warm to hot.

Gaza has been inhabited at least since the 15th century B.C., and many powers ruled it over time. The Ottomans absorbed it early in the 16th century and then came under the British Mandate of Palestine after World War I. Egypt administered the Gaza Strip after the 1948 war, and Israel took it in 1967. The Oslo Accords, signed between 1993 and 1999, handed many civilian and security duties to a new Palestinian Authority. Talks on a final settlement stalled in 2001, and the conflict remains unresolved.

Did you know?

• Three currencies circulate: the Israeli new shekel, the Jordanian dinar, and the Egyptian pound.
• With a median age of 19.9 years, half the population is under 20.
• Gaza, the largest urban area listed, had about 778,000 people in 2023.