Gaza is a hot mess right now. War typically causes confusion and chaos. We will have a better idea after the dust from the war settles - whenever that may be. I have found conflicting reports - everything from a 6% decline to a 2.2% increase. But that increase is highly questionable, unverified and also illogical considering the situation in Gaza.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/dec/06/instagram-posts/has-gazas-population-grown-2-since-oct-7-2023-no-t/

"Human rights nonprofit Amnesty International released a Dec. 5 report that found Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel and the U.S. have both denied the charge, Reuters reported. And some social media users rebutted the claim of genocide by pointing to inaccurate data about Gaza’s population.

"Breaking News! The CIA World Factbook just released this: The population in Gaza has increased by 2.02% since Oct. 7, 2023," a person in a Dec. 5 Instagram video says. The person also calls Amnesty International "liars" for saying there’s a genocide in Gaza.

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The CIA’s World Factbook did estimate the 2024 population growth rate of the Gaza strip at 2.02%. But that estimate is based on growth projections from August 2023, before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza.

The World Factbook’s website said its population data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. Its estimate matches the bureau’s International Population Estimates and Projections released Aug. 8, 2023. The bureau said its population data estimates and projections for the Gaza Strip come from a 2017 census.

Census Bureau spokesperson Kristina Barrett told PolitiFact that although the CIA Factbook citation page says it sources data from the Census Bureau, she could not independently confirm its data source. If the CIA World Factbook used census data, she said it would come from the August 2023 International Population Estimates and Projections. Barrett said that data was published before the conflict started.

The CIA did not respond to multiple questions from PolitiFact about where it sourced its population growth rates.

We cross-referenced all 227 of the CIA Factbook’s 2024 population growth rates and found all but 32 matched the ones in the Census Bureau’s 2023 population estimates and projections."