Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

The Computer, Internet and Mobile Phone Survey is a random sample survey implemented by the Paestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in the period 20 July–24 August 2004. The sample size is 7,557 households, 4,992 households in the West Bank and 2,565 households in Gaza Strip. This year’s survey revealed that 35.7% persons aged 10 years and over use a computer, 33.3% have access to the Internet, and 30.0% own a mobile phone. In the Arab World, Palestine thus tops the list of countries whose Internet usage has reached the largest percentage of the population, with the UAE at 33.2% Internet access.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics conducted another round of the survey on the impact of Israeli measures on the economic conditions of Palestinian households. Data collection was conducted in the second quarter of 2004. The survey found that 226,000 Palestinian households lost more than 50 percent of their usual income and about 22.6 percent of Palestinian households in the Gaza Strip suffered from highly critical living conditions. The survey indicates that 59.7 percent of Palestinian households decreased their income during the Intifada of which 62.5 percent lost more than half of their usual income.