BETHLEHEM - There are currently 5.1 million Palestinian registered refugees, according to figures released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday to mark World Refugee Day.

Of these, 40 percent live in Jordan, 23.8 percent in the Gaza Strip, 17.1 percent in the West Bank, 10 percent in Syria and 9.1 percent in Lebanon.

Palestinian refugees account for nearly half of the population in the occupied Palestinian territory, the report said, comprising 30 percent of the population in the West Bank and 67 percent in the Gaza Strip.

The refugee population in the Palestinian territory is generally younger than Palestinian refugees elsewhere, the study said, noting that according to latest figures 41.7 percent of refugees in Palestine were under the age of 15, and the average birth rate was 4.3 births per women.

Refugees in the Palestinian territories also have higher rates of poverty and unemployment than non-refugees, though slightly lower rates of illiteracy, PCBS said.