British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 163

CHAPTER VI. of the Jewish population. A rough idea of the order of magnitude of underestimate may be obtained by comparing (a) the current estimates at the end of the past three years with (b) estimates compiled by the Jewish Agency and (cl estimates compiled by the Food Controller.

(a) (b) (C) (di
Date Estimates of estimates of Estimates of Revised de
the Dept. of the Jewish the Food facto esumute
Stall sties Agency Controller 31st December 1942 484,408 31st December !DH 002,912 31st December IU44 528, 702

517,000

528,000 542,000 567,600

558,600

587,000 565,000

The Food Controller's figures are in general exaggerated though less so for the Jewish population, residing, in the main, in areas in which a system of points rationing was in force, than for the other sections of the population. On the other band they are not intended to include enlisted soldiers, who are included in the data of the Department of Statistics and in those of the Jewish Agency.

The data of the Jewish Agency are based partly on censuses of Jews taken in Haifa (1Q38), in Jerusalem (ln39l and in rural districts and small towns (ln41-43), and partly on estimates of migratory movements differing from the official records. They include also an estimate of a certain number of persons alleged not to have been enumerated in 1931.

By examining detailed data on the Jewish population by localities, as resulting from the three sources, an attempt has been made to prepare a revised de facto estimate for the end of 1944 (column (d) above). This estimate cannot, however, claim complete reliability and should be considered as a conservative one. No attempt has been made to correct estimates for previous years.

30. The compilation of estimates of the population by localities is even more complicated than the compilation for the whole of Palestine and results in less reliable data, since no records are kept. in Palestine either of internal migrations or places of residence of immigrants and emigrants. However, since these estimates are required for administrative purposes, they are compiled as a routine matter by the Department of Statistics at the end of every year. They are obtained by adding to the population (of each religion) enumerated in each town or sub-district in 1931, the natural increase

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