Palestinian scouts celebrate the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip in the Ein El-Helwa refugee camp, in the south of Lebanon. (Maan Images)

In 2001, the Palestinian population worldwide was estimated by the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) at almost 9.4 million. This included:

3,700,000 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

1,400,000 in Israel

2,472,000 in Jordan

456,000 in Lebanon

495,000 in Syria

291,000 in Saudi Arabia

287,000 in other Arab states

216,000 in the Americas

275,000 in other countries

In 2004, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the number of Palestinians worldwide had increased to 9.6 million.

According to the U.S. Department of State's "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2004," 5.4 million Palestinians now live within the borders of former Palestine (that is, in Israel, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip) as compared to 5.3 million Israeli Jews.