Ahead of Yom Ha’atzmaut: Israel’s population grew almost twelvefold since its establishment
Israel has 9,506,000 citizens, almost 12 times its population of 806,000 at the time of the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which released its traditional statistics report on the citizens of Israel in honour of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day being celebrated yesterday.
On Israel’s 100th birthday, in 2048, the CBS estimate that Israel’s population will grow to about 15.2 million citizens. According to CBS projections, Israel’s population will surpass 10 million sometime between 2025 and 2030. In 2030, the population of Israel is expected to reach 11.1 million, in 2040 – 13.2 million.
The Jewish population stands at 7,021,000 million, 73.9% of the entire population. Israel’s Arab citizens constitute 21.1% of the total population, numbering approximately 2,210,000. Non-Arab Christians and other religious groups constitute 5% of the population.
Since last year’s Independence Day, Israel’s population grew by 176,000, constituting a 1.9% growth, including 191,000 newborn babies; 55,000 people have died.
Israel welcomed 38,000 new immigrants. Some 3.3 million people have made Aliyah (immigration to Israel) since 1948, making up 43% of the total population. About 1.5 million, 44.7%, of them arrived since 1990.
About 79% of Israel’s population is Israeli-born, known as “sabras.” In 1948, only 35% were sabras.
The population of Israel is a young population: About 28% are children aged 0-14 and about 12% are aged 65 or over. 0.6% of Israelis are older than 90.
At the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, only one city had more than 100,000 residents – Tel Aviv-Yaffo. Today, 14 cities have over 100,000 residents; eight of them have more than 200,000. They are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Haifa, Rishon Letzion, Petah Tikvah, Ashdod, Netanya, and Beer Sheva.
Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, is the most populated city, with about 10% of the population.
Israel has 68 institutions of higher education.
In 2019, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 45% of world Jewry.
