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Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with around 2.1 million individuals living in a total area of 365 square kilometers. For nearly 15 years, the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza has been under restrictions imposed by the Government of Israel (GoI) due to security concerns.

It is to be noted that Gaza City is one of the densest cities in the world (10,475 people/km2), making land extremely expensive. The city is also struggling to provide services with the ongoing financial difficulties facing Gaza in general. Outright compensation for land and assets in municipal infrastructure is a huge challenge.

This report examines the fiscal crisis facing the Palestinian Authority (PA) that could threaten its very existence. It looks at recent macroeconomic and fiscal developments and gives and analysis of key issues and challenges such as economic and fiscal trends. The report also goes in depth analysis of the public financial management issues, the challenges of civil service reform, reforming intergovernmental fiscal relations, the education sector, and social policy and social ...

Conflict in Gaza has made a bad situation even worse; preventing the management of a vital natural resource that has led to an environmental disaster. Policies to soften some of the impacts of the drought in Syria could have kept people on their land and kept them from falling into poverty.

With a high unemployment rate in Gaza (53.7 percent), and every second person in Gaza living below the poverty line, residents of the Gaza Strip also face greater technical, environmental, social, institutional and financial challenges, due in large part to restricted access to goods and services.

At the request of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the status of pension schemes in the West Bank and Gaza was reviewed, and a technical analysis of the two civil service schemes was undertaken. A Technical Appendix reports in detail on projections of the financial status of the civil service schemes as well as on improvement options.