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Vital Statistics:
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On the eve of Yom Ha'Atzmaut 5773 - Israeli Independence Day in April 2013 - Israel's population stood at 8,018,000.
The Jewish population makes up 6,042,000 (75.3%); 1,658,000 (20.7%) are Arabs; those identified as "others" make up the remainder, or 318,000 people. When the state was established, there were only 806,000 residents. Total population reached its first and second million in 1949 and 1958 respectively.
Diversified Growth
The overall population grew by approximately 138,000 people (1.8%) since Indepedence Day 2012 - a growth rate similar to that of the last eight years.
The Jewish population grew 1.8% (similar to past years) while the Arab population gre 2.4% (a rapid decline from the 3.4% annual growth rate in the 1990's). The Christian population grew 1.3% and the Druze population grew 1.7%.
Immigration & Naturalization
Israel welcomed 16,892 new immigrants as citizens during 2011, an increase of 1.5% from 2010. The largest immigrant nationalities were: Russia (3,678); Ethiopia (2,666); the United States (2,363); Ukraine (2,051); and, France (1,775). There were only 2.7 immigrants for every 1,000 Israeli citizens.
The Ethiopian immigration, in particular, has experienced a large increase - in 2009, only 239 Ethiopians emigrated to Israel.
4.3 million (73%) of the total Jewish population are "Sabras" - born in Israel - compared with just a 35% native-born population at Israel's independence in 1948. 38.6% of the Jewish population are Israeli-born to at least one parent who was also Israeli-born.
Those of European and American ancestry make up about 2.2 million (36%) of the Jewish population while Africans fill out another 14.5% and Asians are 11.2%.
A Young Population
Israel's population is considered young relative to the populations of other Western countries.
28.% of the population was aged 0-14 while only 10.3% were older than 65 years of age. OECD average is 18.5% (0-14) and 15% (65+).
Israel's average age, however, is getting older. In 2011, the average age was 29.5 years as opposed to 27.6 in the year 2000. Average age for males is 28.4 and for women is 30.6 years old.
Life expectancy in 2011 was 80 years for men and 83.6 years for women. This life expectancy continues an upward trend of the last decade. Jewish males had a life expectancy 4.2 years higher than their Arab counterparts; while Jewish women had an expectancy 3.0 years higher. The Israeli life expectancy is higher than the OECD average.
Distribution
About 40% of Israel's total population lives in the center of the country (24% in Central region and 16.5% in Tel Aviv area). Approximately 17% of the population lives in the north and another 14% are based in the south. 12% live in both Jerusalem and Haifa regions and another 4% in the West Bank.
Just under half of the Jewish population lives in the center of the country, either Jerusalem or Tel Aviv metropolitan areas. 60% of the Arab population lives in the north.
Jerusalem and the Central region recorded an above average growth rate of 2.5% while Tel Aviv saw one of its lowest, at 0.8%.
Israel's population density increased in 2011 to 347 people per every square kilometer (not including the West Bank) as opposed to only 288 people per km2 in 2000. By comparison, Slovenia (who's territory is roughly the same size as Israel's) has a population density of 102 people per km2; Belgium (slightly larger than Israel) has a density of 364 people per km2.
Tel Aviv is Israel's densest region with 7,522 people per km2; Jerusalem has a density of 1,484 people per km2 and Bnei Brak is Israel's densest city with 22,145 people per km2.
Birth, Marriage & Divorce
47,885 couples were wed in Israel over the past year, of which 75% were Jewish and 21% Muslim. 13,042 couples were divorced during the year, 80% Jews.
166,296 babies were born in Israel during 2011, almost exactly equal to the 2010 birth number of 166,255.
The number of children per woman in Israel stands at 3, slightly lower than the 3.03 of 2010. Jewish women have an average 2.98 children (a rise of .01 from 2010), which is the highest recorded number since 1977. The number of children for every Muslim woman stands at 3.51, however this is a dramatic decrease from 3.75 in 2010.
Sources:
Central Bureau of Statistics (April 2013)
"Press Releases," Israeli
Central Bureau of Statistics, (September 11, 2012).
Yoni Dayan, "Population Nears 8 Million Ahead of Rosh Hashanah," The
Jerusalem Post, (September 12, 2012).
