Palestine 🇵🇸
Palestine is a country in Asia with a population of 5,371,230. Its capital is Ramallah. The official currency is ILS, and the main languages are Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Ramallah
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 5,371,230
- Area: 6,020 km²
- Density: 892 people per km²
- Currency: ILS
- Languages: Arabic
- ISO code: PS
Where Palestine sits
Palestine 🇵🇸 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Ramallah. It covers 6,020 square kilometres — 165th in the world — and is home to about 5,371,230 people, 120th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Palestine compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Palestine sits closest to Liberia and Norway. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Brunei and Trinidad and Tobago.
At 892 people per square kilometre it is about 15 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The ILS is shared with 1 other country, including Israel.
To see Palestine next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Palestine
Palestine's proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while its government works from Ramallah, the administrative centre in the West Bank. That is why quizzes, including ours, usually give Ramallah as the answer. For the flag, remember three stripes, black, white and green, held together by a red triangle.
The flag of Palestine: black, white, green and red
🇵🇸 The flag is three horizontal stripes of black, white and green, with a red triangle on the left side. Black, white, green and red are the Pan-Arab colours. The design is almost identical to the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916, and it has been used since the 1920s.
Region and neighbours
Palestine is a state in West Asia, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, made up of two separate areas: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It shares land borders with 3 countries: Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The West Bank borders Israel and Jordan, and the Gaza Strip, on the Mediterranean coast, borders Israel and Egypt.
- Israel 🇮🇱 — capital Jerusalem
- Jordan 🇯🇴 — capital Amman
- Egypt 🇪🇬 — capital Cairo
Three facts about Palestine
- Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, is about 258 m below sea level, which makes it the lowest city in the world. It is also one of the oldest cities on Earth.
- The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, the first site listed under Palestine.
- Palestine takes part in the United Nations as a permanent non-member observer state.
Sources: Wikipedia: Palestine, Wikipedia: Flag of Palestine, Wikipedia: Ramallah, Wikipedia: Jericho, Wikipedia: Church of the Nativity, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Palestine
- Asian capitals quiz — match Palestine to Ramallah
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Palestine flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Palestine
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Palestine those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Ramallah
- Palestine capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Palestine, plus the answer quizzes most often try to trick you with
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Palestine
- Capital of Palestine: Ramallah — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Palestine flag?
The flag of Palestine is three horizontal stripes of black, white and green, with a red triangle on the left side. Black, white, green and red are the Pan-Arab colours. The design is almost identical to the flag of the Arab Revolt of 1916, and it has been used since the 1920s.
Which countries border Palestine?
Palestine shares land borders with Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The West Bank borders Israel and Jordan, and the Gaza Strip, on the Mediterranean coast, borders Israel and Egypt.
How can I remember the capital of Palestine?
Palestine's proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while its government works from Ramallah, the administrative centre in the West Bank. That is why quizzes, including ours, usually give Ramallah as the answer. For the flag, remember three stripes, black, white and green, held together by a red triangle.