The study reveals that two years of war, blockade, and economic suffocation have erased 22 years of progress, pushing the region into unprecedented turmoil.
UNCTAD’s findings paint a stark picture. Gaza’s infrastructure has been shattered beyond recognition, its industries have come to a standstill, and its essential public services such as health, education, water, and housing, have been pushed to the edge of collapse.
By the end of 2024, the Palestinian economy had effectively rewound to the levels of the early 2000s. Gaza’s GDP has shrunk by 83 percent, leaving the region with an output of only $362 million. Meanwhile, per capita income has fallen to $161, one of the lowest figures anywhere in the world.
The report warns that nearly 2.3 million people are living under severe hardship due to continuous restrictions, limited access to basic resources, and the grinding pressure of displacement and conflict. UNCTAD notes that the social and economic wounds inflicted on Gaza are deep and lasting, likely to take decades to heal even under the best conditions.
The cost of rebuilding Gaza now exceeds $70 billion, a burden that experts say cannot be met without urgent and coordinated global assistance. Without massive international support, the report warns, the economy simply cannot regain its footing.
Conditions in the occupied West Bank also remain bleak. Movement restrictions, checkpoints, and settlement expansion have pushed the region’s GDP down by 17 percent, dragging per capita income back to around 2014 levels.
UNCTAD has called on the international community to take immediate and practical steps to halt the economic freefall, ease the humanitarian crisis, and pave the way for a stable and dignified future. The agency emphasizes that relief will require not only funding, but also policy shifts, eased restrictions, and a coherent global effort.
