The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. [1]
The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The division into religious groups was 590,890 Muslims, 83,794 Jews, 73,024 Christians, 7,028 Druze, 408 Sikhs, 265 Baháʼís, 156 Metawalis, and 163 Samaritans. [2]
Censuses carried out by the Ottoman Empire, most recently in 1914, had been for the purpose of imposing taxation or locating men for military service. For this reason, the announcement of a census was unpopular and effort was made in advance to reassure the population. [3] This was believed to be successful except in the case of the Bedouins of the Beersheva Subdistrict, who refused to cooperate. [3] Many census gatherers, supervised by 296 Revising Operators and Enumerators, visited each dwelling, with special arrangements made for persons having no fixed address. [3] Where possible, houses were visited by a census taker of the same religion as the occupants. [3]
The uncooperative Bedouin of the Southern District were counted approximately using counts of households and tithe records, leading to an estimate of 72,898 persons for that sector. [3]
A number of villages in the northern border area were not enumerated as they were still under French control, despite being in Palestine according to the Franco-British boundary agreement (1920). [4] The census did not cover Transjordan at all. [3]
A summary of the census results was published in one volume:
It contains the population of each village divided by religion and sex, and summaries for each district and the whole country. There are also tables with population counts according to Christian denomination, age, marital status, and language.
Rafah is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip; it is the capital of the Rafah Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889.
Samakh was a Palestinian Arab village at the south end of Lake Tiberias in Ottoman Galilee and later Mandatory Palestine. It was the site of battle in 1918 during World War I.
Bi'ina or al-Bi'na is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel. It is located east of Akko. In 2003, Bi'ina merged with Majd al-Krum and Deir al-Asad to form the city of Shaghur, but was reinstated as a local council in 2008 after Shaghur was dissolved. Bi'ina has a mostly Muslim population (92%) with a small Christian minority (8%); in 2021 its population was 8,536.
Hurfeish is a Druze town in the Northern District of Israel. In 2021 it had a population of 6,581.
Kobar is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank. Kobar is located at an altitude of 670 meters (2,200 ft) above sea level with a mean annual rainfall of 669.8 mm. The average annual temperature is 16 °C and the average annual humidity is approximately 61%.
Ein 'Arik is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 7 kilometers west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,567 inhabitants consisting of Muslims (65%) and Christians (35%) in 2007 and a population of 1,774 in 2017.
The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate for Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills after the 1922 census of Palestine. No further census was conducted in Palestine by the British administration.
An-Nabi Samwil, also called al-Nabi Samuil, is a Palestinian village in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine, located in the West Bank, four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village is built up around the Mosque of Nabi Samwil, containing the Tomb of Samuel; the village's Palestinian population has since been removed by the Israeli authorities from the village houses to a new location slightly down the hill. The village had a population of 234 in 2017.
Awlam was a Palestinian village 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Tiberias situated on the slopes of the westward Wadi Awlam.
Sarafand al-Amar was a Palestinian Arab village situated on the coastal plain of Palestine, about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) northwest of Ramla. It had a population of 1,950 in 1945 and a land area of 13,267 dunams.
From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in Mandatory Palestine for which the population was predominantly Shia Muslim. They were Tarbikha, Saliha, Malkiyeh, Nabi Yusha, Qadas, Hunin, and Abil al-Qamh. These villages were transferred from the French to the British sphere as a result of the border agreement of 1923. All of them were depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and their former locations are now in northern Israel.
Al-Hamidiyya, was a Palestinian village in the District of Baysan. It was depopulated by the Jewish militias, precursors of the Israel Defense Forces, during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 12, 1948. It was located five kilometres north of Baysan. It was attacked as part of Operation Gideon. The population in 1922 was 193, expanding to 255 in 1948.
Sirin, was a Palestinian Arab village located 17 kilometers (11 mi) north of Beisan. The village was depopulated and destroyed in 1948. Only the village cemetery and one house remain standing, along with the remains of a mosaic pavement and a vaulted spring dating to the Byzantine period. Mentioned in historical documents, the 1596 census indicated it had 45 households; by 1945, the number of inhabitants had risen to 810.
Al-Mas'udiyya, was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jaffa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on December 25, 1947. It was located 5 km northeast of Jaffa, situated 1.5 km south of the al-'Awja River. The village used to be known as Summayl.
Arab al-Shamalina also known as Khirbat Abu Zayna was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 4, 1948, under Operation Matate (Broom), a sub operation of Operation Yiftach. It was located 13 km southeast of Safad near the Jordan River.
Al-Mansura was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was located 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Safad on the Banyas River, to the south of what is now Dafna.
Al-Hamma was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of Tiberias. It was situated on a narrow salient in the Yarmouk Valley bounded by Syria to the north and Transjordan to the south and east. Al-Hamma was one of the stations on the Jezreel Valley railway, linking the Hejaz Railway to Haifa. It was depopulated twice, once in July 1949, and again between 1949 and 1956.
Al-Samakiyya was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 4, 1948, under Operation Matateh. It was located 11 km northeast of Tiberias, near the Wadi al-Wadabani. The village was located at Tel Hum, which has been identified with Capernaum.
Wadi al-Hawarith was a Palestinian bedouin camping site in the Tulkarm Subdistrict. It was depopulated at the outbreak of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on March 15, 1948, following the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. It was located 16.5 km northwest of Tulkarm. Wadi al-Hawarith was mostly destroyed with the exception of four houses.
Palestinian Druze were people in Mandatory Palestine who belonged to the Druze ethnoreligious group. During the first census of the British mandate, Druze were one of eight religious demographic groups who were categorized, The sense of a distinct identity among Druze began to increase in the 1930s when some other Arab citizens viewed them as being neutral during ethnic contentions. During the early 20th century, many authors depicted the Druze as neutral during the clashes that happened between Arabs and Jews in the 1920s and 1930s. This perception eventually culminated in Israeli leadership approaching the Druze who were in leadership positions and offering them a treaty of non-aggression, leading to somewhat tranquil relations between the two.