British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 714

CHAPTER XVI.

17-18 in Jaffa sub-district, 21-22 in Ramie and Tulkarm subdistricts, and 27 in all other sub-districts. The last mentioned are in the main purely Arab sub-districts. The progress, measured in percentage of decrease of mortality, is spectacular, especially in Haifa and Jaffa villages where child mortality has dropped by 60 per cent. in 15 years.

Among town populations the progress has been very great in Jaffa and Haifa and rather less in Jerusalem where the initial position was already comparatively good. In small towns which are, in the main, purely Arab towns the progress has been similar to the average improvement in the country as a whole. Health conditions in Jaffa appear to have been very bad in the first period for which data are available, with 55 children out of 100 dying before reaching the age of 5. At present, however, the child death rate of Jaffa is less than half of this, i.e. 26.

179. Natural increase. As shown in preceding sections, the

Arabs of Palestine have, during the last two decades, been in an almost unique demographic position. On the one hand, nuptiality and fertility have increased to some extent in the earlier period in consequence of the cessation of the conscription system operated by the Turks, but also in consequence of increased prosperity; on the other hand the high birth rate has not been associated with the high child mortality rate which usually accompanies it. Child mortality and general mortality have decreased very rapidly owing to improved economic and hygienic standards. This improvement is particularly noticeable in those sub-districts of the coastal plain which have been the main Jewish migration areas.

180. In consequence of the various factors discussed above the Arab population of Palestine as a whole has grown very considerably during the last twenty years as is shown by table 18, which gives the rates of natural increase since 1922.

Table 18.

RATE OF NATURAL INCREASE PER 1000 OF MOSLEM POPULATION.

1922/25 23.3

1926/30 25.2

1931/35 25.0

1936/40 27. 7

1941/44 30.7

181. Hates of natural increase of Palestinian Moslems exceed the rates of natural increase (or of total increase) of other Moslem populations (see table 19).

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