The already poor living conditions in the Gaza Strip have been steadily deteriorating in recent months. Sanctions by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and its failure to achieve reconciliation with Hamas and lift the Israeli siege, have significantly worsened the situation.
According to a World Bank report issued Sept. 25, "The economy in Gaza is collapsing, suffering from a decade-long blockade and a recent drying up of liquidity." It said, "The result is an alarming situation with every second person living in poverty and the unemployment rate for its overwhelmingly young population at over 70 percent." Total unemployment in Gaza stands at 53%.
In recent months, the prices of goods and services in the Gaza Strip increased, wages decreased, purchasing power declined, economic growth shrank and cash flows dropped. This has weakened trade activity, causing a sharp decline in the population's income.
On June 27, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) published its estimates for national accounts for the first quarter of 2018, revealing gross domestic product (GDP) in the Gaza Strip of $813.5 million, a decline of 6% compared with the same period in 2017. GDP per capita for the first quarter of 2018 stood at $425.30, a decrease of 8.9% from the previous quarter.
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