§ Captain Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the latest available estimate of the total population of Palestine, other than Transjordan; how many of this number are Jews and Arabs, respectively; what, in square miles, is the estimated cultivable area of the country; and how many square miles, believed to be cultivable, are estimated to be still uncultivated.
§ Mr. George HallThe estimated population of Palestine at 31st December, 1944, was:
Moslems … 1,061,277 Jews … 528,702 Christians … 135,547 Others … 14,096 Total … 1,739,624 Of the Moslems, Christians and others it is estimated that 1,180,000 are Arabs.
The estimated area of Palestine regarded as "cultivable" for fiscal purposes is 3,410 square miles; but I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to Chapter IX of the Report of the Royal Commission on Palestine (Cmd. 5479) for an explanation of the difficulty of estimating how much land is in fact capable of cultivation.