By SHELLY PAZdruse feature88(photo credit: )
The Druse population in Israel reached 120,000 in 2007 and is expected to reach 175,000 by 2030, according to a Central Bureau of Statistics report released ahead of the Druse holiday of the Prophet Shu'aib, which will be celebrated for four days starting on Thursday.
The Druse constitute 1.7 percent of the country's total population and 8.3% of Arab residents in Israel.
When the state was first established, there were approximately 14,500 Druse, and their population growth is mainly natural.
According to the CBS's predictions, the Druse population will constitute 1.8% of the state's total population by 2030, and 7.4% of the Arab population.
The Druse inhabit two main districts: the Northern District, where 81% of the Druse population lives, and the Haifa District, where the remaining 19% live.
In addition, Druse tend to live near other members of their ethnic group. Thus 98% of them live in 18 towns and cities, in 12 of which they constitute 90% of the population.
The town with the highest concentration of Druse residents is Daliat al-Carmel-Isfiya, where 21,500 live.
While the Druse population increased by 2% in 2006, it was lower than the growth in the general Arab population in Israel (2.8%). However, it was higher than the increase in the Jewish and Christian populations - 1.5% and 1.9% respectively.
By the end of 2006, children aged 14 and under constituted 33.1% of the Druse population, while the elderly made up only 4.3%.
In 2005, the median age of married Druse was 26.1 for men and 20.9 for women.
In 2006, about 2,600 babies were born to Druse mothers - 1.8% of all babies born in Israel that year.
The average Druse birthrate is constantly decreasing, down from 7.9 children per woman during the 1960s to 2.6 children in 2006 - lower than the Jewish birthrate that year, which was 2.8 children per woman.
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