The Christian Population of Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 159. Chapter VI: Population:

CHAPTER VI.
1010 about 45,000 souls, more than half of the whole Jewish population of Palestine. During the first world war this population was reduced to 26,600 and recovered very slowly between 192'.} and l!l31. Jerusalem now contains approximately 97,,000 Jews, which is less than one fifth of all the Jewish population of Palestine.

On the other hand a few of the historical Jewish urban communities residing in small towns have declined. Thus Safad, which numbered 10,000 Jewish inhabitants before the first world war, lost a considerable part of its Jewish population during that war and after the disturbances of 1020. The Jewish community or Tiberias also experienced various periods of demographic decrease and their number today is about the same as prior to the first world war.

The Christian pop11lalion.

18. The Christian population has been, throughout the period, predominantly urban and has tended to become more so. In rn22 one fourth of the Christians resided in the villages as against one fifth in l!l44. The urban population is concentrated mainly in Jeusalern , Haifa and Jaffa, which include 53 per• cent. of the Christian population of Palestine as compared with 42 per cent. in 1922. The increase was particularly marked in Haifa (from 9,000 in 1922 to 27,000 in 1944) and Jaffa (from 7,000 in 1022 to 15,000 in 1944 and less so in Jerusalem (from 15,000 in 1922 to 20,000 in 11)44). Among smaller towns with a predominantly Christian character mention should be made of Nazareth, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Beit Jala. Christians are found in the rural areas of almost all sub-districts, but they are in considerable numbers mainly in the sub-districts of Acre, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nazareth and Haifa.

The fourteen thousand persons included in the foregoing statistical tables under the heading "Others" are, in the main, Druzes, dwelling now, as in the past, in villages mainly in the hill areas of the sub-districts of Acre, Haifa and Tiberias.

All religions.

19. Taking the population as a whole, tables 7 to 9 reveal a very considerable trend toward urbanization, the urban population hav.ng increased by 47 per cent. in 1922-31 and by 97 per cent. in 1931-44, as compared to 32 per cent. and 59 per cent. respectively for the rural population. Out of a 100 inhabitants, only 51 per cent. lived in villages in 1944 as compared with 65 per cent. in 1922; meanwhile the share of large towns has gone up from 18 per cent. in 1922 to 32 per cent. in 1944.

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