On the eve of its 63rd Independence Day, the state’s population has surpassed
7.7 million, a growth of 2 percent since this time last year, according to the
Central Bureau of Statistics.
The figures, published on Sunday, show an
increase of 155,000 citizens.
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Yom Ha'atzmaut 2011: Events around Tel AvivJews makes up some 75.3% of the population,
or 5,837,000 people, while the Arab population has reached 1,587,000
(20.5%).
Non-Arabs and non-Jews make up 4.2% of citizens, or 322,000
people.
Since Independence Day last year, 178,000 babies were born, while
some 43,000 people died. Close to 24,500 immigrants arrived, of those 6,500 were
ex-pat Israelis returning home.
The CBS also reported that some 12,000
people left Israel for a variety of reasons.
In the state’s 63rd year,
70% of the population are Israeli-born citizens and most within this group are
second generation.
This is in stark contrast with 1948, when only 35% of
citizens were native-born.
The data also shows that while in 1948, only
Tel Aviv boasted 100,000 residents, today 14 cities hold that
distinction.
Six cities have more than 200,000 residents – Jerusalem, Tel
Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod and Petah Tikva.
According to a CBS
report released last Rosh Hashana, Israel is still a fairly young nation with
nearly 28% of its population under the age of 14, compared to 17% in Western
countries on average.
Only 10% of the country’s population is over the
age of 65, while in other Western countries the average is closer to
15%.
Recent data also show that the average Jewish family size has
increased from 2.8 children per household in 2008 to 2.96 in 2009.
Among
Muslims, the average number of children was 3.84 last year, a fall from two
years ago when it reached 3.97 children per household.
Among Christians,
the average number of children was down to 2.11 in 2008.
Women continue
to slightly outnumber men, especially among older people.
There are
roughly 979 men for every 1,000 women, however in the 75 and over group, there
are 673 men for every 1,000 women.