Timeline of the demographics of Palestine (region)

See also: Demographic history of Palestine (region)

The population of the region of Palestine, which approximately corresponds to modern Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, has varied in both size and ethnic composition throughout its history.

The following table shows the total population and that of the main ethno-religious groups living in the area from the First Century CE up until the last full calendar year of the British Mandate, 1947.

Note: Figures prior to the 1500s are all only estimates by researchers. For some periods, there are multiple researchers who have made differing estimates. None should be taken as exact numbers, and further context and detail is available by following links to the full description on Wikipedia as well as links to the original information sources.

conflicting: some estimates conflict among different researchers

Overview of the demographics of the region of Palestine from the 1st century CE through 1947 (in thousands)

Year	Source	Jewish	Pagan	Samaritan[1]	Christian	Muslim	Total	Driving events
0–100 (1st c.) CE	Bachi[2]	Majority			...	n/a	1,000– 2,500 [3]	66–74 CE: First Jewish–Roman War, Roman Empire defeats Jews in 70 CE. Estimates of Jews killed or who died from famine and disease ranged from less than 300,000(Schwartz)[4], to 600,000 (Tacitus)[5] , to 1.1 million plus 97,000 captured and driven out.(Josephus)[6] 132–135 CE: Bar Kokhba revolt by Jews against Romans 580,000 Judean men killed in battles/raids. Others die from famine, disease and fire (Cassius Dio, Cotton, Raviv, Ben David)[7][8] Raviv:[7] Archeological evidence shows Jewish settlements in Judea almost completely eradicated by 135 CE. However, Jews lived on in Galilee. Klein:[9][10] In Galilee, Roman authorities replaced many Jews with Syrians, Phoenicians, and Arabians.
140 CE†	Avi- Yohan [11]	conflicting; 700-800	...	conflicting; "far fewer than 300,000"	...	n/a	conflicting; 2,500
	Broshi [11]	conflicting		conflicting		n/a	conflicting; <1,000 ("never more than 1 million")
Early 300s	Stem- berger [11]	Largest group	2nd- largest	3rd- largest	Smallest group	n/a	...	400, cities were majority non-Jewish, most land likely owned by non-Jews. 400s: Western Roman Empire collapses, driving Christian immigration. Christianization. Christian majority by 500 CE. (Avi-Yonah)[12][11]
300s	Bachi	Majority	...	...	Minority	n/a	"More than in 1st c." [13][14]
400s	Bachi	Minority	n/a	...	Majority	n/a
500s			n/a	...		n/a
628	Butler, Gil	>250 [15]	30-80		520-570		>950	629: Heraclius ordered massacre of Jews; ca. 150,000 left, many to Egypt. (Butler, Gil, Schäfer)[16][17][18]
630s	Parkes	150– 400	n/a	...	...		...	635: As Byzantine rule ended and Muslim rule began: Parkes:[19] Est. 150,000–400,000 Jews in all Palestine Crown et al.: Palaestina Prima only, which did not include Galilee, had a population of 700,000, incl. 100,000 Jews and 30–80,000 Samaritans,[20] with the remaining 520-570,000 Chalcedonian and Miaphysite Christians. Gil: Jews and Samaritans together likely still formed a majority in 638[21] In the period after 638: Immigration of Arabs (i.e. from the Arabian Peninsula), how many is unclear MFA Israel: Jews flourished at first; Umar encouraged Jews to settle in Jerusalem after 500-year ban.[22] 688–744 (–1033): Frequent plague recurrences and devastating earthquakes in 749, 881 and 1033) caused a steady decline of the population, falling from around 1 million in the 5th c. to a lowest estimate of 400–560,000 by 1096 (start of First Crusade).[23][24][25][26]
700s			n/a	...				700s-800s: Civil wars drove Jewish emigration[22] 717: New taxes on and discrimination against Jews drove Jewish emigration[22] ~750-900: Mass Islamization with Muslim majority "visible" by ~966-985 (al-Maqdisi)[27]
800s			n/a	...				868–905: Mass Islamization of Samaritans[28] 881: Acre earthquake
900s			n/a	...
1095	Ellen- blum, Della- Pergola Broshi		n/a	...			400– 560	1033: Jordan Rift Valley earthquake 1096–1099 1st Crusade, Crusaders massacre and enslave Jews and Muslims. Most Jerusalem Jews killed in Siege of Jerusalem[29][30][31] 1099: Goitein: Jewish mass conversions to Islam were not widespread from 901–1265 except the persecution of Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1099.[32] 1100: "By 1100 Jews had declined substantially",[22][33] 1100s: Jews only about "1000 poor families". (Heynick)[34] 1187: Saladin defeats Crusaders; his Ayyubid dynasty in power; some immigration of diaspora Jews 1260: Mamluks take power, oppress Jews, grossly mismanage economy. Great social and economic decline. Large-scale Christian and Jewish emigration, but, trickle of Jewish immigration. Jews become an even smaller minority.[35] 1347: Black Death reaches Palestine.[36] 1517: Ottomans take power. About 5,000 Jews live in Palestine.[37][38][better source needed]
End 1100s	Bachi	Minority	n/a	...	Minority	Majority	>225
1300s	Bachi	Minority	n/a	...	Minority	Majority	150
1533-9	Bachi	5	n/a	...	6	145	156
1553-4	Bachi	7	n/a	...	9	188	205
1690-1	Bachi	2	n/a	<0.2	11	219	232
1800	Bachi	7	n/a	<0.2	22	246	275	1882-1903: First Aliyah about 35,000 Jews immigrate mostly from the Russian Empire and Romania. They join about 20-25,000 Jews in Palestine as of 1880.
1890	Bachi	conflicting; 43	n/a	<0.2	conflicting; 57	conflicting; 432	conflicting; 532
1890-1	Ottoman census	conflicting; 18	n/a	<0.2	conflicting; 52	conflicting; 446	conflicting; 516
1914	Bachi	94	n/a	<0.2	70	525	689	1904-1914: Second Aliyah, 35–40,000 Jews immigrate, most from the Russian Empire
1914-5	Ottoman census	39	n/a	<0.2	81	602	722	1919-1923: Third Aliyah about 40,000 Jews immigrate, mostly from Eastern Europe
1922	British census	84	n/a	<0.2	71	589	752	1924-8: Fourth Aliyah, about 80,000 Jews immigrate, about half from Poland, but also USSR, e Romania, Lithuania. 12% were from Yemen, Iraq, or elsewhere in West Asia.
1931	Bachi	175	n/a	<0.2	89	760	1,033	1929-1939: Fifth Aliyah, 250,000 Jews immigrate (of which 174,000 between 1933 and 1936). In 1936 British start to prohibit Jewish immigration. 1933-1948: Aliyah Bet, about 110,000 Jews immigrate from Europe without British permission
1947	Bachi	630	n/a	<0.2	143	1,181	1,970

^†including what is today the Kingdom of Jordan