Israel at 66 is home to 8.18 million people

Just days before Israel’s Independence Day, the country’s population stands at 8.18 million people, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

Over the past year, the population has grown by about 157,000, a 2 percent increase. There were 178,000 births and about 42,000 deaths during this period, and the remainder of the increase was accounted for by 24,000 new immigrants, the state body said.

At about 6.135 million people, Jews represent 75 percent of the population, a slight drop of .3 percent from last year, while Arabs (1.694 million), make up 20.7% and non-Arab Christians and people of other religions or no religious affiliation number 351,000 (4.3%).

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When the State of Israel was established in 1948, the population numbered 806,000, and Tel Aviv-Jaffa was the only city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. There are now 14 such cities, six of which are home to more than 200,000.