After almost two decades of continuous increases in those emigrating from the city, the year 2019 brought good tidings. Of the 6,000 Jerusalemites who moved out, 65% moved to nearby towns.
By PEGGY CIDORIsrael's most populous city, Jerusalem, May 13, 2020(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
What could be a better present for Jerusalemites than a drop in the number of locals moving out of the city?After almost two decades of continuous increases in those emigrating from the city, the year 2019 brought good tidings. Of the 6,000 Jerusalemites who moved out, 65% moved to nearby towns.Behind this remarkable finding is an increase of 21,000 people, including 3,000 new immigrants who chose to establish their residence here, and the negative migration balance of 6,000 Jerusalemites who departed for various reasons. An additional 12,800 people commute daily to Jerusalem for work.Another remarkable finding is that the gender gap in salaries in the capital stands at 20% – compared to 32% in Tel Aviv and 33% in the rest of the country.The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research has issued its Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem (research and compilation by Dr. Maya Chochen and Michal Korah), with a wide range of figures on the city in every topic. This is the official source for statistical data about Jerusalem from a variety of resources, including the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Jerusalem Municipality.With tables and graphs of current data on territory, climate, population, migration, quality of life, employment, industry, services, construction, transportation, tourism, education, culture, sports, healthcare, welfare, communications, public order, religion, the municipal budget and more, it is the most complete tool to get an idea of the trends, changes and complexity of the capital.THE CAPITAL is also Israel’s most populous city. At the end of 2017, Jerusalem’s population numbered 901,300, representing 10% of Israel’s total population. Jerusalem has the largest Jewish population in Israel, with 559,800, as well as Israel’s largest Arab population, with 341,500. In east Jerusalem, by the end of 2018, 38% of the population was composed of Jewish residents, and 62% of Arabs residents. Jerusalem is also the largest city in terms of jurisdictional area, with 126 sq.km. – compared with Tel Aviv, which has 52 sq.km.In terms of religious identification, the capital has the largest haredi and religious populations in comparison with the country average. While secular people represent 67% of Israel’s population, in Jerusalem they comprise 34% of the city. Countrywide the religious are 24% of the population, while they make up 31% of the population in Jerusalem; and haredim – who are 10% of the Jewish population of Israel overall – form 35% of the city’s Jewish population.Demographically, in 1967 Jerusalem was composed of 26% Arabs and 74% Jews; in 2019 it stood at 38% Arabs and 62% Jews. Interestingly, there was a growth of 25% in the number of Arab students – city residents – who attended the Hebrew University, in addition to a growth of 52% of these students in the city’s academic colleges. The rate of unemployment among Arab male residents was (until coronavirus) 3%, as in the rest of Israel, while the rate among Arab females stood at 3%, compared to 5% in the rest of the country.Jerusalemites are young. In 2017 the median age of residents was 24, meaning that half the population was younger than 24, and half was older. In comparison, the populations of Tel Aviv and Haifa were significantly older than Jerusalem’s, with median ages of 36 and 38, respectively. The median age of Israel’s general population was 30 in that year.The haredim in Jerusalem are very young, even younger than the Arab population. The proportion of haredi children aged 0-14 was 40%, compared with 28% in the general Jewish population, including secular, traditional and religiously observant. As for the proportion of senior citizens aged 65 and older in Jerusalem’s haredi sector, it stood at 7%, compared with 15% in the Israel’s general Jewish population.The city’s Muslim Arab population is also characterized by its young age, and it is significantly younger than the Christian Arab population, with 37% aged 0-14 among the Muslims compared to 20% among the Christian Arab population. Senior citizens aged 65 and older made up 4% of the Muslim population, compared to 14% of the Arab Christian population.Jerusalem is the poorest city in the country: the poverty rate in Jerusalem stands at 45%, compared to 4%-23% in most of the major cities.Tourism is a major source of income for the capital’s economy, which is holy for billions of Christians (of all denominations), Muslims and Jewish across the world. Jerusalem also draws tourists for its historical and archaeological sites and cultural centers.Over the past three years, Jerusalem has seen growth in the numbers of guests and overnight stays in tourist hotels in the city. In 2018 the number of guests and the number of overnight stays in Jerusalem’s tourist hotels were the highest ever recorded.The blow to tourism caused by coronavirus is a major concern of the mayor and his staff, and the plan is to launch a massive project aimed to attract Israelis from across the country – to replace, in the coming months, the tourists from abroad who are not expected back in the near future.
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