UNCTAD Estimates Gaza Reconstruction Cost at $71.5 Billion

By Staff, Agencies

Rebuilding Gaza will cost an estimated $71.5 billion, according to a new report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which documents the severe destruction of the territory’s productive economy and mounting fiscal pressures on the Palestinian Authority.

The estimate draws on a joint damage and needs assessment by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations.

The assessment puts physical damage to Gaza’s infrastructure at $35.2 billion and economic and social losses at another $22.7 billion as of early 2026. UNCTAD warned that the total reconstruction needs could increase as further destruction is documented.

According to the report, 92% of Gaza’s economic establishments have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023. GDP per capita fell to $212 in 2025, just 17% of its 2022 level, while unemployment reached 78%, leaving more than nine in 10 working-age residents without jobs.

Production has largely collapsed across Gaza’s main economic sectors. Agricultural and industrial output remained 94% below 2022 levels, while construction activity fell by 99%. Gaza, which accounted for 17.4% of Palestinian GDP before October 2023, contributed less than 4% in 2025.

The economic collapse has been accompanied by a sharp rise in prices. UNCTAD said Gaza’s overall price level in 2025 was 274% higher than in 2022, with essential goods including potatoes and cooking gas costing several times more than before.

Although real GDP grew by 34.2% in 2025, UNCTAD attributed the increase to a statistical rebound after an 83% contraction in 2024 rather than a genuine economic recovery.

The loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs since October 2023 has also erased an estimated $2.8 billion in labor income.

Housing represents the largest reconstruction requirement at approximately $16.2 billion, followed by agriculture and food systems at $10.5 billion, health at around $10 billion, and commerce and industry at roughly $9 billion.

About $26.3 billion would be required during the first 18 months, with the remaining needs extending over roughly a decade.

UNCTAD said more than half of Gaza’s hospitals and primary health clinics are no longer functioning, while less than 1.5% of cropland remains both accessible and undamaged.

The assessment also estimates that more than 68 million metric tons of debris must be cleared, with removal and processing expected to cost more than $1.7 billion, underscoring the scale of the reconstruction challenge.