Israel at 64 stands 135,000 people stronger than last year, census stats show
State population at 7,881,000, 75.3% of whom are Jewish
On the eve of Israel’s 64th Independence Day, the country’s population stands at 7,881,000, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics this week.
The figure is a 135,000 jump over the population of 7,746,000 recorded this time last year.
The Jewish population makes up 75.3 percent of Israeli citizens, almost 5,931,000 people. Arab citizens make of 20.6% of the population at 1,623,000. The remaining 4.1% (327,000 people) are those who are not listed as Jews, Muslims, Christians or Druze by the Interior Ministry.
In addition, about 200,000 non-citizens live in the country on work permits.
Since last Independence Day, over 161,000 babies were born in Israel and around 19,000 new immigrants arrived, leading to a population grown of 1.8%. In the same time period, 39,000 people passed away and almost 8,000 emigrated.
The emigration figures show a sharp 35% decrease in Israelis seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Last year’s numbers showed 12,000 emigres leaving Israel.
Complementary data released by the Foreign Ministry on Sunday revealed that the average life expectancy for Israelis in 2011 was 83.4 for females and 79.7 for males, among the highest rates in the world.
According to UN data for 2010, only citizens of Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland have longer average lifespans.
The Times of Israel Community.