How big is Palestine?: Before we start answering this question, it is worth to give you an introductory information about Palestine. Palestine is an Arab country located in Asia on the eastern Mediterranean coast, which is known also as the Levant. It is bordered by Jordan to the east, Lebanon to the north, and the Red Sea and Sinai, Egypt to the south. In the west the Mediterranean Sea acts as a bridge connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Palestine is divided into two areas: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Imagine the West Bank as an island with it bordering Jordan in the east. Gaza is a thin strip of land bordered by the Mediterranean on its west and Egypt in the south and west.
What is the size of Palestine?
The area of historical Palestine is about 27,000 Km2, West bank and Gaza which what called now Palestine is about 6,220 km2. The area of the West Bank comprises approximately 21% of the historical area of Palestine (from the river to the sea), ie about 5860 km2, including the mountains of Nablus and the Jerusalem hills, including the eastern part of Jerusalem, the Hebron mountains and the western Jordan Valley.
The area of the Gaza Strip constitutes about 1.3% of the area of Palestine, it is approximately 360 square kilometers. Most of the internal refugees are residing in there which making it the most densely populated region in the world.
Number of governorates and cities of Palestine
Palestine has 16 governorates divided into 11 governorates in the West Bank and 5 governorates in the Gaza Strip where Jenin is located in the far north and Hebron city in the far south. The governorates of Palestine are Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Beira, Nablus, Salfit, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem, Tubas, Jenin, Jericho, the Jordan Valley, the northern Gaza Strip, Gaza, the central Gaza Strip, Khan Younis and Rafah.
The city of Hebron is the largest governorate in the West Bank in terms of area and population, where there is about one million people living there. Ramallah is one of the most important governorates in the West Bank, where it includes ministries and government institutions, and is the temporary capital of Palestine due to its closeness to Jerusalem that constitutes the future capital of Palestine.
