• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Africa Horn Now

"We don't take sides; we help you see more sides."

Africa Horn Now

ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ

Published: May 6, 2021

PBS: Escaping Eritrea … [Read More...] about ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ

Gaza unemployment world’s highest as 60% of youth find themselves jobless

May 22, 2015 By Africa Horn Now

By Khaled Abu Toameh, 05/22/2015, Jerusalem Post

While about 43% of PA’s expenditures are spent in Gaza, only 13% of its revenues come from Gaza

gaza
A Palestinian boy plays at a house that witnesses said was destroyed during Operation Protective Edge in the east of Gaza City. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Blockades and war has strangled  the Gaza Strip’s economy and the unemployment rate is now the highest in the world, according to a report published Friday by the World Bank. The report is to be presented to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a forum of donors to the Palestinian Authority, at the bi-annual meeting in Brussels on May 27. The report estimates that the Gaza Strip’s GDP would have been about four times higher than it currently is if it weren’t for the conflicts and the multiple restrictions.

It also states that the 2007 blockade has shaved around 50 percent off Gaza’s GDP, causing welfare losses of up to 28%. Unemployment in the Gaza Strip is the highest in the world at 43%, when compared to other countries, according to the report. “Even more alarming is the situation of youth unemployment, which soared to more than 60% by the end of 2014, the highest in the region,” it added. “Gaza’s unemployment and poverty figures are very troubling and the economic outlook is worrying. The current market in Gaza is not able to offer jobs leaving a large population in despair, particularly the youth,” said Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank country director for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“The ongoing blockade and the 2014 war have taken a toll on Gaza’s economy and people’s livelihoods. Gaza’s exports virtually disappeared and the manufacturing sector has shrunk by as much as 60%. The economy cannot survive without being connected to the outside world.” The report noted that the Gaza Strip’s real GDP is only a couple of percentage points higher now than it was in 1994, while the population growth is estimated to have increased by about 230% over the same period.

Last year’s Operation Protective Edge reduced the Gaza Strip’s GDP by about $530 million, the report said. According to the report, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and electricity sectors were hit the most, with output reductions of 83% in the construction sector in the second half of 2014 and roughly 50% in the other sectors.

“Gaza became a major source of deficit and fiscal burden on the Palestinian Authority’s finances amplified by the internal divide. While about 43% of PA’s expenditures are spent in Gaza, only 13% of its revenues come from Gaza,” the report stated. It warned that the population suffers from poor access and quality of basic public services such as electricity, water, and sewerage. The lack of electricity, the report pointed out, is a serious problem because of lack of alternative fuels caused by the blockade.

The report also noted that nearly 80% of Gaza’s population receives some kind of social assistance, and nearly 40% still fall below the poverty line. “Even more shocking is the reality that most of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents are confined to an area of 160 square kilometers and are not able to travel beyond this area without permits. As many as one-third of Gaza’s children showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder even before the 2014 armed conflict; now even more,” Jorgensen said.

The report cautioned that the status quo in the Gaza Strip is unsustainable. “Recovery is conditional upon easing of the Israeli blockade, in particular to allow reconstruction materials in and exports out, as well as donor financing for reconstruction,” it added.

“The World Bank has been monitoring the disbursement rate of donor pledges and currently it is only at 27.5%. Effective governance systems and institutional strengthening under the PA’s leadership are also a necessary precondition for sustained economic recovery of Gaza.”

Filed Under: AHN NEWS

Primary Sidebar

A New Administration Won’t Heal American Democracy

Published: November 6, 2020

The Rot in U.S. Political Institutions Runs Deeper Than Donald Trump Larry Diamond | November 5, 2020 | Foreign … [Read More...] about A New Administration Won’t Heal American Democracy

Archives

  • May 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • June 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014

Log In

Copyright © 2023 Africa Horn Now · WordPress · Log in