# Palestinian refugee camps

Palestinian refugee camps were first established to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight during the 1948 Palestine war. Camps were established by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A subsequent wave of Palestinian refugees were created in the Naksa after the Six-Day War in 1967.
There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps in total, 58 official and 10 unofficial, ten of which were established after the Six-Day War while the others were established in 1948 to 1950s.
Only a third of registered Palestinian refugees live within the boundaries of the refugee camps. Most have integrated socially and economically outside the camps. Many live in adjacent geographic areas.
The number of registered Palestine refugees grew from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.

## History

* Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon, 1952
* Shatila refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut in 2019

### Role of UNRWA

UNRWA's mandate is to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees, including access to its refugee camps. For this purpose, it defines Palestinian refugees as "persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict."
UNRWA also extends assistance to the patrilineal descendants of such refugees, as well as their legally adopted children.
For a camp to be recognized by UNRWA, there must be an agreement between the host government and UNRWA governing use of the camp. UNRWA does not itself run any camps, has no police powers or administrative role, but simply provides services to the camp. UNRWA recognizes facilities in 58 designated refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and it also provides facilities in other areas where large numbers of registered Palestine refugees live outside of recognized camps. UNRWA also provided relief to Jewish displaced persons inside Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for them in 1952. Refugee camps developed from tented cities to rows of concrete blockhouses to urban ghettos indistinguishable from their surroundings (effectively becoming urban developments within existing cities or by themselves), that house around one third of all registered Palestine refugees.
The Funding for UNRWA activities comes almost entirely from voluntary contributions from UN member states. UNRWA also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.

## List of camps

The camps are divided between five regions:
* Gaza Strip: The Gaza Strip has eight official and no unofficial refugee camps, and 1,221,110 registered refugees.
* West Bank: The West Bank has 19 official and four unofficial refugee camps, and 741,409 registered refugees.
* Syria: Syria has nine official refugee camps and three unofficial refugee camps, and 499,189 registered refugees.
* Lebanon: There are 12 official refugee and no unofficial camps in Lebanon, and 448,599 registered refugees.
* Jordan: There are 10 official and three unofficial refugee camps in Jordan, and 2,034,641 registered refugees.
| Name | Founded | Location | Status | Coordinates | Population | Area (km$^2$) | Density (pop/km$^2$) | Comments |
| Yarmouk | 1957 | Syria | Unofficial | 33°28′27″N 36°18′11″E﻿ / ﻿33.47417°N 36.30306°E﻿ / 33.47417; 36.30306 | n.a. | 2.1 | n.a. | Largely destroyed (was 160,000 population) |
| Rafah | 1949 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°16′58.87″N 34°15′11.52″E﻿ / ﻿31.2830194°N 34.2532000°E﻿ / 31.2830194; 34.2532000 | 125,304 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Baqa'a | 1968 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°04′25″N 35°50′35″E﻿ / ﻿32.07361°N 35.84306°E﻿ / 32.07361; 35.84306 | 119,000 | 1.4 | 85,000 | |
| Jabalia | 1948 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°32′20.81″N 34°29′57.63″E﻿ / ﻿31.5391139°N 34.4993417°E﻿ / 31.5391139; 34.4993417 | 113,990 | 1.4 | 81,421 | |
| Khan Yunis | 1949 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°21′3″N 34°17′18″E﻿ / ﻿31.35083°N 34.28833°E﻿ / 31.35083; 34.28833 | 87,816 | 0.549 | 159,956 | |
| Al-Shati (Beach camp) | 1948 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E﻿ / ﻿31.5321972°N 34.4453944°E﻿ / 31.5321972; 34.4453944 | 85,628 | 0.52 | 164,669 | |
| Nuseirat | 1949 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°26′51.56″N 34°23′34.35″E﻿ / ﻿31.4476556°N 34.3928750°E﻿ / 31.4476556; 34.3928750 | 80,194 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Ain al-Hilweh | 1948 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°32′37″N 35°22′41″E﻿ / ﻿33.54361°N 35.37806°E﻿ / 33.54361; 35.37806 | 59,660 | 0.3 | 198,867 | |
| Al-Wehdat refugee camp (Amman New Camp) | 1955 | Jordan | UNRWA | 31°55′35″N 35°56′18″E﻿ / ﻿31.92639°N 35.93833°E﻿ / 31.92639; 35.93833 | 57,000 | 0.48 | 118,750 | |
| Marka | 1968 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°00′33″N 36°01′14″E﻿ / ﻿32.00917°N 36.02056°E﻿ / 32.00917; 36.02056 | 53,000 | 0.92 | 57,609 | |
| Jaramana | 1948 | Syria | UNRWA | 33°29′N 36°21′E﻿ / ﻿33.483°N 36.350°E﻿ / 33.483; 36.350 | 49,000 | 0.03 | 1,633,333 | |
| Latakia | 1955–6 | Syria | Unofficial | 35°30′28″N 35°47′45″E﻿ / ﻿35.50778°N 35.79583°E﻿ / 35.50778; 35.79583 | 47,400 | 0.22 | 215,455 | |
| Bureij | 1949 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°26′22.31″N 34°24′10.58″E﻿ / ﻿31.4395306°N 34.4029389°E﻿ / 31.4395306; 34.4029389 | 43,330 | 0.529 | 81,909 | |
| Rashidieh | 1963 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°14′12.12″N 35°13′5.16″E﻿ / ﻿33.2367000°N 35.2181000°E﻿ / 33.2367000; 35.2181000 | 34,584 | 0.25 | 138,336 | |
| Jabal el-Hussein | 1952 | Jordan | UNRWA | 31°57′52″N 35°54′23″E﻿ / ﻿31.96444°N 35.90639°E﻿ / 31.96444; 35.90639 | 32,000 | 0.42 | 76,190 | |
| Maghazi | 1949 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°25′16.89″N 34°23′07.35″E﻿ / ﻿31.4213583°N 34.3853750°E﻿ / 31.4213583; 34.3853750 | 31,329 | 0.6 | 52,215 | |
| Jerash | 1968 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°16′20.21″N 35°53′29.03″E﻿ / ﻿32.2722806°N 35.8913972°E﻿ / 32.2722806; 35.8913972 | 29,000 | 0.75 | 38,667 | |
| Irbid | 1951 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°33′0″N 35°51′0″E﻿ / ﻿32.55000°N 35.85000°E﻿ / 32.55000; 35.85000 | 28,000 | 0.24 | 116,667 | |
| Balata | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°12′N 35°17′E﻿ / ﻿32.200°N 35.283°E﻿ / 32.200; 35.283 | 27,000 | 0.25 | 108,000 | |
| Deir al-Balah | 1948 | Gaza Strip | UNRWA | 31°25′33″N 34°20′26″E﻿ / ﻿31.42583°N 34.34056°E﻿ / 31.42583; 34.34056 | 25,569 | 0.16 | 159,806 | |
| Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp) | 1968 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°28′30″N 35°54′18″E﻿ / ﻿32.47500°N 35.90500°E﻿ / 32.47500; 35.90500 | 25,000 | 0.77 | 32,468 | |
| Burj el-Shamali | 1955 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°15′47″N 35°14′20″E﻿ / ﻿33.26306°N 35.23889°E﻿ / 33.26306; 35.23889 | 24,929 | 0.134 | 186,037 | |
| Shu'fat camp | 1965 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°48′44″N 35°14′47″E﻿ / ﻿31.81222°N 35.24639°E﻿ / 31.81222; 35.24639 | 24,000 | 0.2 | 120,000 | |
| Qabr Essit | 1967 | Syria | UNRWA | 33°26′50″N 36°20′10″E﻿ / ﻿33.44722°N 36.33611°E﻿ / 33.44722; 36.33611 | 23,700 | 0.02 | 1,185,000 | |
| Tulkarm | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°18′51″N 35°2′4″E﻿ / ﻿32.31417°N 35.03444°E﻿ / 32.31417; 35.03444 | 21,500 | 0.18 | 119,444 | |
| Beddawi | 1955 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 34°27′0.64″N 35°52′9.17″E﻿ / ﻿34.4501778°N 35.8692139°E﻿ / 34.4501778; 35.8692139 | 21,252 | 0.2 | 106,260 | |
| Zarqa | 1949 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°05′N 36°06′E﻿ / ﻿32.083°N 36.100°E﻿ / 32.083; 36.100 | 20,000 | 0.18 | 111,111 | |
| Bourj el-Barajneh | 1948 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°50′54″N 35°30′12″E﻿ / ﻿33.84833°N 35.50333°E﻿ / 33.84833; 35.50333 | 19,539 | 0.104 | 187,875 | |
| Souf | 1967 | Jordan | UNRWA | 32°18′30″N 35°53′7.37″E﻿ / ﻿32.30833°N 35.8853806°E﻿ / 32.30833; 35.8853806 | 19,000 | 0.5 | 38,000 | |
| Askar | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°13′11.51″N 35°17′50.77″E﻿ / ﻿32.2198639°N 35.2974361°E﻿ / 32.2198639; 35.2974361 | 18,500 | 0.119 | 155,462 | |
| Al-Nayrab | 1948 | Syria | UNRWA | 36°10′32″N 37°13′40″E﻿ / ﻿36.17556°N 37.22778°E﻿ / 36.17556; 37.22778 | 18,000 | 0.15 | 120,000 | |
| Dheisheh | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°41′38.47″N 35°11′02.96″E﻿ / ﻿31.6940194°N 35.1841556°E﻿ / 31.6940194; 35.1841556 | 15,000 | 0.33 | 45,455 | |
| Qalandia | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 33°19′55″N 36°19′56″E﻿ / ﻿33.33194°N 36.33222°E﻿ / 33.33194; 36.33222 | 14,800 | 0.42 | 35,238 | |
| Al-Hassan | 1967 | Jordan | Unofficial | 31°57′27″N 35°58′19″E﻿ / ﻿31.95750°N 35.97194°E﻿ / 31.95750; 35.97194 | 14,068 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Jenin | 1953 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°27′41″N 35°17′11″E﻿ / ﻿32.46139°N 35.28639°E﻿ / 32.46139; 35.28639 | 14,000 | 0.42 | 33,333 | |
| Jalazone | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°57′07.15″N 35°12′41.58″E﻿ / ﻿31.9519861°N 35.2115500°E﻿ / 31.9519861; 35.2115500 | 13,000 | 0.253 | 51,383 | |
| Al-Sabinah | 1948 | Syria | UNRWA | 33°26′2″N 36°17′8″E﻿ / ﻿33.43389°N 36.28556°E﻿ / 33.43389; 36.28556 | 13,000 | 0.03 | 433,333 | |
| Homs | 1949 | Syria | UNRWA | 34°42′30.29″N 36°42′26.62″E﻿ / ﻿34.7084139°N 36.7073944°E﻿ / 34.7084139; 36.7073944 | 13,000 | 0.15 | 86,667 | |
| Khan Danoun | 1950 | Syria | UNRWA | 33°19′55″N 36°19′56″E﻿ / ﻿33.33194°N 36.33222°E﻿ / 33.33194; 36.33222 | 12,650 | 0.03 | 421,667 | |
| El Buss | 1948 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°16′21″N 35°12′36″E﻿ / ﻿33.27250°N 35.21000°E﻿ / 33.27250; 35.21000 | 12,281 | 0.08 | 153,513 | |
| Al-Arroub | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°37′23.18″N 35°08′12.19″E﻿ / ﻿31.6231056°N 35.1367194°E﻿ / 31.6231056; 35.1367194 | 12,000 | 0.24 | 50,000 | |
| Khan al-Shih | 1949 | Syria | UNRWA | 33°21′30″N 36°6′26″E﻿ / ﻿33.35833°N 36.10722°E﻿ / 33.35833; 36.10722 | 12,000 | 0.69 | 17,391 | |
| Shatila | 1949 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°51′46″N 35°29′54″E﻿ / ﻿33.86278°N 35.49833°E﻿ / 33.86278; 35.49833 | 10,849 | 0.04 | 271,225 | |
| Nur Shams | 1952 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°19′07.36″N 35°03′31.63″E﻿ / ﻿32.3187111°N 35.0587861°E﻿ / 32.3187111; 35.0587861 | 10,500 | 0.21 | 50,000 | |
| Daraa | 1950 | Syria | UNRWA | 32°37′N 36°6′E﻿ / ﻿32.617°N 36.100°E﻿ / 32.617; 36.100 | 10,500 | 1.3 | 8,077 | |
| Fawwar | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°28′46.45″N 35°03′52.93″E﻿ / ﻿31.4795694°N 35.0647028°E﻿ / 31.4795694; 35.0647028 | 9,500 | 0.27 | 35,185 | |
| Wavel | 1948 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°59′56.27″N 36°11′35.46″E﻿ / ﻿33.9989639°N 36.1931833°E﻿ / 33.9989639; 36.1931833 | 9,460 | 0.043 | 220,000 | |
| Hama | 1950 | Syria | UNRWA | 35°08′N 36°45′E﻿ / ﻿35.133°N 36.750°E﻿ / 35.133; 36.750 | 9,000 | 0.06 | 150,000 | |
| Aqabat Jaber | 1948 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°50′17.00″N 35°26′30.20″E﻿ / ﻿31.8380556°N 35.4417222°E﻿ / 31.8380556; 35.4417222 | 8,600 | 1.67 | 5,150 | |
| Madaba camp | 1956 | Jordan | Unofficial | 31°42′41″N 35°47′15″E﻿ / ﻿31.71139°N 35.78750°E﻿ / 31.71139; 35.78750 | 8,597 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Far'a | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°17′38.35″N 35°20′39.74″E﻿ / ﻿32.2939861°N 35.3443722°E﻿ / 32.2939861; 35.3443722 | 8,500 | 0.26 | 32,692 | |
| Talbieh Camp | 1968 | Jordan | UNRWA | 31°42′19″N 35°56′57″E﻿ / ﻿31.70528°N 35.94917°E﻿ / 31.70528; 35.94917 | 8,000 | 0.13 | 61,538 | |
| Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1) | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 32°13′48.91″N 35°14′58.42″E﻿ / ﻿32.2302528°N 35.2495611°E﻿ / 32.2302528; 35.2495611 | 7,500 | 0.045 | 166,667 | |
| Sokhna camp | 1969 | Jordan | Unofficial | 32°7′59″N 36°4′20″E﻿ / ﻿32.13306°N 36.07222°E﻿ / 32.13306; 36.07222 | 7,424 | n.a. | n.a. | sometimes transliterated 'Sakhna' or 'Sukhna' |
| Am'ari | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°53′38.60″N 35°12′41.52″E﻿ / ﻿31.8940556°N 35.2115333°E﻿ / 31.8940556; 35.2115333 | 7,000 | 0.096 | 72,917 | |
| Ein Al-Tal (also known as Handarat camp) | 1962 | Syria | Unofficial | 36°17′34.84″N 37°9′24.86″E﻿ / ﻿36.2930111°N 37.1569056°E﻿ / 36.2930111; 37.1569056 | n.a. | 0.16 | n.a. | Largely destroyed (was 7,000 population) |
| Nahr al-Bared | 1949 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 34°30′47″N 35°57′40″E﻿ / ﻿34.51306°N 35.96111°E﻿ / 34.51306; 35.96111 | 5,857 | 0.198 | 29,581 | Reconstructed, was 27,000 population |
| Mieh Mieh | 1954 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°32′30″N 35°23′29″E﻿ / ﻿33.54167°N 35.39139°E﻿ / 33.54167; 35.39139 | 5,747 | 0.054 | 106,426 | |
| Aida | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°43′10.34″N 35°11′56.31″E﻿ / ﻿31.7195389°N 35.1989750°E﻿ / 31.7195389; 35.1989750 | 5,500 | 0.071 | 77,465 | |
| Dbayeh | 1956 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°54′N 35°34′E﻿ / ﻿33.900°N 35.567°E﻿ / 33.900; 35.567 | 4,591 | 0.084 | 54,655 | |
| Ein as-Sultan camp | 1948 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°52′40.24″N 35°26′46.24″E﻿ / ﻿31.8778444°N 35.4461778°E﻿ / 31.8778444; 35.4461778 | 3,800 | 0.87 | 4,368 | |
| 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) | 1950 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°42′54.78″N 35°12′07.61″E﻿ / ﻿31.7152167°N 35.2021139°E﻿ / 31.7152167; 35.2021139 | 2,900 | 0.027 | 107,407 | |
| Deir 'Ammar Camp | 1949 | West Bank | UNRWA | 31°57′57.22″N 35°05′55.98″E﻿ / ﻿31.9658944°N 35.0988833°E﻿ / 31.9658944; 35.0988833 | 2,500 | 0.162 | 15,432 | |
| Qaddura camp | 1948 | West Bank | Unofficial | 31°54′3.32″N 35°12′21.18″E﻿ / ﻿31.9009222°N 35.2058833°E﻿ / 31.9009222; 35.2058833 | 1,558 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Mar Elias refugee camp | 1952 | Lebanon | UNRWA | 33°52′38″N 35°29′19″E﻿ / ﻿33.87722°N 35.48861°E﻿ / 33.87722; 35.48861 | 725 | 0.0054 | 134,259 | |
| Silwad Camp | 1971 | West Bank | Unofficial | 31°58′5″N 35°15′41″E﻿ / ﻿31.96806°N 35.26139°E﻿ / 31.96806; 35.26139 | 462 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Abu Shukheidim camp | 1948 | West Bank | Unofficial | | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | Town of Abu Shukhaydam (sic) shows on maps as ~1mi SW of Birzeit |
| Birzeit camp (As-Saqaeif) | 1948 | West Bank | Unofficial | 31°58′12″N 35°12′01″E﻿ / ﻿31.97000°N 35.20028°E﻿ / 31.97000; 35.20028 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |

## Population statistics

The evolution of Palestinian refugee population is shown below:
| | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2004 | 2009 | 2018 |
| Jordan | 506,200 | 613,743 | 506,038 | 716,372 | 929,097 | 1,570,192 | 1,758,274 | 1,951,603 | 2,242,579 |
| Lebanon | 127,600 | 136,561 | 175,958 | 226,554 | 302,049 | 376,472 | 396,890 | 422,188 | 475,075 |
| Syria | 82,194 | 115,043 | 158,717 | 209,362 | 280,731 | 383,199 | 417,346 | 461,897 | 560,139 |
| West Bank | – | – | 272,692 | 324,035 | 414,298 | 583,009 | 675,670 | 762,820 | 846,465 |
| Gaza Strip | 198,227 | 255,542 | 311,814 | 367,995 | 496,339 | 824,622 | 938,531 | 1,073,303 | 1,421,282 |
| Total registered refugees | 914,221 | 1,120,889 | 1,425,219 | 1,844,318 | 2,422,514 | 3,737,494 | 4,186,711 | 4,671,811 | 5,545,540 |
The number of Palestinian refugees living within the UNWRA registered area of operations is shown below, both those living in camps and those living outside camps:
| | Registered persons (refugees and other) | Registered refugees in camps | % registered refugees in camps |
| 1953 | 870,158 | 300,785 | 34.6 |
| 1955 | 912,425 | 351,532 | 38.5 |
| 1960 | 1,136,487 | 409,223 | 36.0 |
| 1965 | 1,300,117 | 508,042 | 39.1 |
| 1970 | 1,445,022 | 500,985 | 34.7 |
| 1975 | 1,652,436 | 551,643 | 33.4 |
| 1980 | 1,863,162 | 613,149 | 32.9 |
| 1985 | 2,119,862 | 805,482 | 38.0 |
| 1990 | 2,466,516 | 697,709 | 28.3 |
| 1995 | 3,246,044 | 1,007,375 | 31.0 |
| 2000 | 3,806,055 | 1,227,954 | 32.3 |
| 2005 | 4,283,892 | 1,265,987 | 29.6 |
| 2010 | 4,966,664 | 1,452,790 | 29.3 |
| 2015 | 5,741,480 | 1,632,876 | 28.4 |
| 2018 | 6,171,793 | 1,728,409 | 28.0 |
The table below shows the population of registered refugees, other registered people, and refugees residing in camps, in 2018. UNRWA's definition of Other Registered Persons refer to "those who, at the time of original registration did not satisfy all of UNRWA's Palestine refugee criteria, but who were determined to have suffered significant loss and/or hardship for reasons related to the 1948 conflict in Palestine; they also include persons who belong to the families of other registered persons."
| | Jordan | Lebanon | Syria | West Bank | Gaza Strip | Total |
| Registered refugees | 2,242,579 | 475,075 | 560,139 | 846,465 | 1,421,282 | 5,545,540 |
| Other registered people | 133,902 | 58,810 | 83,003 | 201,525 | 149,013 | 626,253 |
| Total registered people | 2,376,481 | 533,885 | 643,142 | 1,047,990 | 1,570,295 | 6,171,793 |
| Refugees living within official camp borders | 412,054 | 270,614 | 194,993 | 256,758 | 593,990 | 1,728,409 |
| % living within camp borders | 18.4% | 57.0% | 34.8% | 30.3% | 41.8% | 31.2% |