As of 1914, Jews in Palestine (who were mostly persecuted European Jews) were under 8% of the total population and owned under 2% of the total land (here is the founder of the "Jewish state," David Ben-Gurion, confirming similar data as late as Jan. 1966). Despite active British support for Jewish immigration, as of 1947, Jews were a 1/3 of the total population, and ONLY a 1/4th of those gained Palestinian citizenship (meaning 10% of the total citizens) who owned UNDER 6% of the lands! Scroll to the end of the page for the sources and a more detailed tabular breakdown of population distribution from the UN & the British Mandate. It should also be noted that many of these persecuted European Jewish refugees ended up replacing and dispossessing the indigenous majority soon after the war of Nakba. If you are interested in land ownership data, here are the boring details from the British Mandate and the UN.

As you contemplate this map and the figures below, please keep in mind that Beersheba (Negev) was populated and owned by Palestinian tribes at a rate of 99%, and Jews made up under 1% of Beersheba's population. Keep in mind that Zionist Jews, to this date, STILL teach their kids that 1% of the population in Negev managed to reverse global warming and bloomed the desert.

The table below was sourced from Supplement to a Survey of Palestine (pp. 12-13) prepared by the British Mandate for the United Nations in 1946-7. It should be noted that the Survey of Palestine was based on Village Statistics of 1945, which contains much more detailed data. Click here for the details.

Settled population, excluding the nomadic Bedouins, by town and sub-district estimated as of 31st December 1946.

Here is also Table 3 of Survey of Palestine (p. 142) that clearly shows that Palestinian's population natural growth accounted for 96% of the population increase during the pre-Nakba period:
And here is Arab and Jewish immigration to Palestine from 1920-1945 on p. 185:
It should be noted that the previous tables' data jives 100% with fertility data of the Palestinian population in the 1920s and 30s (Survey of Palestine, pp.  704 - 705). Also, keep in mind that during the pre-Nakba period, many Palestinians immigrated to Latin and South America, where there is still a very large Palestinian community.

Again, please don't conflate the population with citizenship. Only 1/4th of the Jews in Palestine (as of 1948) were citizens of Palestine. The rest were primarily legal & illegal immigrants who had no right to replace and dispossess the indigenous people.

Note that ALL Jewish towns were exclusively Jewish populated as a result of the apartheid policies of the Zionist Movement. These apartheid policies were approved and encouraged by the British Mandate. They affected all sectors of society, such as housing, land ownership, schools, higher education, finance, political parties, official languages, ... etc. Also, it should be noted that Palestinian Christians and Muslims resisted the implementation of apartheid policies tooth and nail to preserve a united country. However, that was counter to Zionists' ambitions.
* Revised de facto estimate.
**Revised figures, according to sub-district boundaries 1946.
*** Doesn't include the nomadic Bedouins, who were estimated in other studies to number close to 100,000 Palestinians. Many of them were resettled in al-Ramla after the 1948 war.

Related Links

• Short Clip: Who owned the land in Palestine in 1948 before "Israel" was created? (3 minutes)
• The scanned pages from which the above data were extracted from A Survey of Palestine.
• Similar data was published at the UN.
• Village Statistics Project: This is the most detailed study for every Palestinian and Jewish town in Palestine before Nakba. It includes all sorts of data you can imagine: landownership, population, land usage, education, etc.
• Palestine Population: During The Ottoman And The British Mandate Periods By Justin McCarthy
• Palestine Census of 1931 (in PDF Format / 30MB size)
• Times Magazine: Palestine Boom (December, 1934)