Israel boasts population growth

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released its traditional statistics report on the citizens of Israel in honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, which is celebrated this year on Wednesday night and Thursday.

Israel boasts 8,842,000 citizens, more than 10 times as many as the 806,000 at the time of the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948.

On Israel’s 100th birthday, in 2048, the CBS estimate that Israel’s population will grow to about 15 million citizens. According to CBS projections, Israel’s population will surpass 10 million some time between 2025 and 2030.

The Jewish population stands at 6,589,000 million, 75 percent of the entire population. Israel’s Arab citizens constitute 20.9 percent of the total population, numbering approximately 1,849,000. Non-Arab Christians and other religious groups constitute 4.65 percent of the population.

Since last year’s Independence Day, Israel’s population grew by 163,000, constituting a 1.9 percent growth, including 177,000 newborn babies; 41,000 people have died.

Israel’s population is young in comparison to other Western countries. Children up to the age of 14 constitute 28 percent of the population.

Israel welcomed 28,000 new immigrants. Some 3.5 million people have made Aliyah (immigration to Israel) since 1948, making up 42 percent of the total population.

About 75 percent of Israel’s population is Israeli-born—known as “sabras”—half of them second-generation. In 1948, only 35 percent were sabras, and their numbers have since more than doubled.

In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry.

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 some 882,700 residents—almost 10 percent of the population.

In 1949, Israel had merely 500 cities and towns. Today, it boasts over 1,200.

In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry.

Israel boasts 63 academic institutions, as opposed to only two in 1948.

Israel was the 11th happiest country in the world in 2017, the fifth consecutive year Israel received this high ranking, after reaching 14th in the first 2012 report. Israel came out ahead of the US, Germany, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Britain, Brazil, France and Mexico.

According to data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, over 93 percent of Israelis say they are happy or very happy with their lives.