Israel population hits 8 million on eve of Independence Day

On the eve of its 65th Independence Day, Israel’s population hit 8 million, an increase of 1.8 percent – some 137,000 people – since last year, according to a report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.

The report, which comes out annually on the eve of Independence Day, also pointed out that at the time of the establishment of the state, Israel’s population amounted to only 806,000 resident.

In the period of time between last year’s Independence Day and Sunday, some 163,000 babies were born in Israel and about 41,000 people passed away. A number of 19,500 olim made aliya to Israel in that same time period.

The CBS figures also showed that at the end of the year 2011, over 70% of the Jewish population in Israel were native Israelis, more than half of whom were at least second generation natives, compared to 35% back in 1948.

In 1948, Tel Aviv was the only city in Israel which numbered over 100,000 inhabitants. Today, some 14 cities across the country are in this case. Out of the 14, six have over 200,000 residents: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Letzion, Ashdod and Petach Tikva.

According to the data, 75.3% – about 6 million people – of the population are Jewish, while the country’s Arab residents – some 1.6 million people – represent 20.7% of the total population.

The remaining 4% – 318,000 people – are non-Arab Christians, individuals with other religions and those with no religious affiliation.

Related:
CBS: Israel’s population up by 1.8% in 2011

Danielle Ziri covers Education and Social Welfare for The Jerusalem Post.

Originally from Israel, Danielle grew up across the globe. First in Africa where she lived for 10 years in Congo, Sierra Leon and Gabon; and then in Paris, France where she stayed for eight years before moving back to Tel Aviv.

She graduated from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya with a B.A. in communications and a specialization in television studies and has a Masters degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism with a magazine concentration. She has covered public housing in New York City during her stay there.

Danielle has written for The New York Times, The Jerusalem Report, Haaretz and The Jewish Daily Forward prior to starting work at the Post.