Among Israel’s major cities (of more than 100,000 residents), Jerusalem is second only to Bnei Brak in having the youngest population.
By PAMELA PELEDAge distribution in selected cities, 2015 (by percent)(photo credit: JIIS)
Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, www.jiis.org Jerusalem today has a total of 840,000 residents, making it Israel’s most populous city. The capital’s unique age distribution differentiates it from the country at large, and from other cities.Among Israel’s major cities (of more than 100,000 residents), Jerusalem is second only to Bnei Brak in having the youngest population: According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, over one-third of the city’s residents are below the age of 14, compared with 20 percent for Tel Aviv and Haifa, and 28% in Israel as a whole. By contrast, only 15.5% of Jerusalem’s residents are 55 or older, compared with nearly a fifth of Israel’s residents, approximately a quarter of Tel Aviv’s, and 31.4% of Haifa’s.The median age for Jerusalem in 2015 was 23.7 years – in contrast to Israel, where the median age was 29.7. In Tel Aviv and Haifa, the median age was 35.3 and 38.1, respectively.An examination of Jerusalem’s internal age distribution reveals that the median age of the city’s Jewish residents, at 25.7 years, is higher than that of the Muslim population, at 20.0. The median age of west Jerusalem residents is higher than the figure for the east side: 26.3 versus 22.3. The median age of women in Jerusalem is 24, higher than the figure for men, at 22.In terms of Jerusalem neighborhoods, data from the municipality indicate that the youngest neighborhoods – those with the highest percentages of residents below age 21 – are haredi (ultra-Orthodox) or located in east Jerusalem. Foremost among these are Mea She’arim (61% of neighborhood residents), Ramat Shlomo (61%) and Kafr Akab (59%).In absolute figures, the neighborhoods of Ramot (25,440 residents), Shuafat (19,630) and Romema (18,340) have the largest numbers of young residents. The neighborhoods with the highest percentages of elderly residents aged 61 or above are Talbiye (36%), the German Colony (31%) and Rehavia (29%). In absolute figures, Pisgat Ze’ev (6,390), Gilo (6,090) and Ramot (4,600) have the largest numbers of elderly residents. • Data sources: Central Bureau of Statistics, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Jerusalem Municipality