© February 2018. All rights reserved. Suggested Citation: Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Central Administration of statistics, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2018). The Population and Housing Census in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings - 2017, Key Findings Report (Population, Buildings and Housing Units), Beirut, Lebanon. All correspondences should be directed to: Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee Grand Serail, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel. (961) 01 983074 Fax: (961) 01 983075 E-mail:
[email protected] Website: www.lpdc.gov.lb | www.cas.gov.lb | www.pcbs.gov.ps Population and Housing Census in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings Preface For more than seven decades of Palestinian refugee’s presence in Lebanon, the absence of official statistical researches, partly, has limited the capacity of the Lebanese Government to undergo policy reforms. The numbers of refugees estimated by different agencies were used to drive inaccurate and sometimes falsely understandings of the Palestinian refugees’ population presence in the country. The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) seeks to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, which is impossible to achieve without a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the social, economic and demographic realities of the Palestinian refugees population living in Lebanon. There is a growing need for a solid data for developing plans and strategies and formulating policies and programs to improve the living conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in partnership with the international community. Accordingly, the Lebanese Working Group on Palestinian refugees1 has issued a recommendation to carry out a census in Palestinian camps and gatherings in Lebanon, which will generate the much-needed indicators in support of the Government’s efforts to formulate adequate policies2.