FACTBOX-Christian minority shrinks in Palestinian areas

(Reuters) - Palestinian Christians, and majority Muslims, have been caught up in the conflict with Israel since the Jewish state's creation in 1948.

The Christian share of the population has dwindled in the birthplace of Christianity, due to steady emigration and lower birth-rates than their Muslim neighbours, as well as the dislocations caused by the Middle East wars of 1948 and 1967.

Here are some facts about Palestinian Christians:

* About 145,000 Christians, or 9 percent of the overall population, lived in British Mandate Palestine in 1945, according to an Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry.

* About 110,000 Christians now live in Israel, excluding east Jerusalem. Nearly 50,000 live in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, based on Israeli government figures.

* The Christian population in areas occupied by Israel in 1967 has remained roughly stable. Taking natural increase into account, this means no less than 50,000 Christians have left those areas since 1967, according to Palestinian estimates.

* Christians make up less than 1.5 percent of the overall Palestinian population and about 2 percent of Israel's. Greek Orthodox are the most numerous, with smaller numbers of Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Protestants and others.

* Palestinian Christians have migrated since the early 20th century, mainly to Latin America, the United States and Canada, forming a diaspora much more numerous than the home community.