Israel’s Population Now 8.68 Million, 10x 1948 Figures
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s population stands at 8.68 million on the eve of Israel Independence Day.
The figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday ahead of the nation’s 69th birthday on Monday show that the country’s population is growing by nearly 2 percent a year and that there are 10 times as many Israelis today as there were when the state was founded in 1948.
Some 6.48 million residents of Israel are Jewish and account for 74.4% of the population, and 1.8 million Arabs make up 20.8%. Non-Arab Christians and other ethnic groups make up the 4.4%, of Israel’s population.
In the last year, there were 174,000 births and 44,000 deaths. The population also increased some 30,000 by new immigrants.
Seventy-five percent of the current population was born in Israel, compared to 35 percent who were born in the area in 1948.
Forty-four percent of Jewish Israelis consider themselves secular, with 24 percent identifying as traditional but “not so religious.” Eleven percent say they are religious/Orthodox and 9 percent say they are ultra-Orthodox.
Eight-nine percent of Israeli adults say they are “satisfied with their lives”; 52% “estimate that their lives will be better in the future.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
