According to demographic projections by the United Nations, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Palestinian National Authority, the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza are the world’s fastest growing population—and residents of the Palestinian National Authority will outnumber Israeli Jews in the foreseeable future. But are these estimates accurate?

 In a forthcoming monograph entitled Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza: The Million Person Gap (Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, 2006), American-Israeli Demographic Research Group authors Bennett Zimmerman, Roberta Seid, and Michael Wise demonstrate that inconsistencies and contradictions in the Palestinian National Authority data raise the possibility that the West Bank/Gaza population may be significantly—and increasingly—overcounted.

On February 23, Zimmerman, Seid, and Wise will present their latest study, “A Forecast for Israel and the West Bank 2025,” which further challenges some commonly held assumptions about population in the region.