Definition
Marital Status:
The status of those 12 years old and over in terms of marriage traditions and laws in the country.
May be one of the following cases:
1.Never married: It applies if the person aged 12 years and over has not been married or legally engaged (according to customs and traditions applicable in the country).
2.Legally engaged: It applies if the person aged 12 years and over has an official marriage document (issued by a competent court) but has not been actually married yet according to customs and traditions applicable in the country. The divorced, widowed, and married twice do not belong to this category.
3.Married: It applies if the person aged 12 years and over is actually and officially married (according to customs and traditions applicable in the country) irrespective of his / her past marital status as well as of whether the couple were together during the reference period or not. The person married to more than one wife is classified as married.
4.Divorced: The person aged 12 years and over who previously married and legally divorced but was not married again.
5.Widowed: The married person aged 12 years and over whose marriage was ended by the death of the spouse and was not married again.
6.Separated: The individual 12 years old and over who was married, but his/her marriage was revoked for some reason without any legal or official registration, and he/she did not marry again.
Universe
The PHC-2007 covered all individuals who were in the Palestinian Territory on the census reference night (30/11-1/12/2007) regardless of nationality and citizenship. It also covered all Palestinians who have usual residence in the Palestinian Territory (including those who were temporarily absent for less than one year for the purpose of visit, tourism, treatment, etc. while their households are still living at their permanent places of residence in the Palestinian Territory). All Palestinian students abroad while their households are still living at their permanent places of residence were also included, in addition to all prisoners and detainees in the Israeli jails regardless of the duration of detention. The census excluded all Palestinians holding identity cards who were absent for more than one year (except for the students), even if their households are still living in their places of residence in the Palestinian Territory
