Israel’s population tops 9 million as Jewish new year approaches

Israel’s population stands at 9,092,000 and is expected to reach 10 million by Rosh Hashanah 2024, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

In figures published ahead of the Jewish new year which begins Sunday evening, the CBS said the country’s 6.744 million Jews make up 74.2 percent of the total population, and its 1.907 million Arabs represent 21%.

Other minority groups comprise 4.8 percent of the population with 441,000 residents.

Since Rosh Hashanah 2018, the population rose by 184,000, marking a 2.1% increase, a similar change to previous years. Israelis gave birth to 196,000 children in the past year, while 50,000 citizens died. Some 38,000 people moved to the country, of whom 35,000 were Jewish immigrants who received citizenship.

At its current pace, the Jewish State will have 15 million residents by its hundredth birthday in 2048 and 20 million by 2065, the report said.

Worldwide, there are now 14.8 million Jews, a slight increase from the 14.7 million tallied the year before, the Jewish Agency reported on Thursday.

There are 8.1 million Jews living outside Israel, with the largest population in the United States, which has 5.7 million Jews.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate Simchat Beit Hashoeva in Brooklyn, New York City, September 26, 2018. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

Following Israel and the US, the countries with the largest number of Jews are France (450,000), Canada (392,000), Britain (292,000), Argentina (180,000), Russia (165,000), Germany (118,000) and Australia (118,000).

The Jewish Agency says there 26,000 Jews living in Arab and Muslim states, with 15,000 in Turkey, 8,500 in Iran, 2,000 in Morocco and 1,000 in Tunisia.

The statistics are based on self-identification as Jewish and not as any other religion. The Jewish Agency said when looking at those eligible to get citizenship under Israel’s Law of Return, which requires at least one Jewish grandparent, there are 23.6 million Jews worldwide.