Israel's population at Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year's) 5769 is 7,337,000, of whom 5.54 million are Jews, 1.48 million are Arabs (20.1%), and 318,000 (4.3%) are non-Arab others, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.
At the end of 2007, Israel's population was 7,243,600, of whom 5.48 million were Jews (75.6%), 1.45 million were Arabs, and 315,400 (4.4%) were others, mostly immigrants and their families who are not registered as Jews.
Israel has 978 men per 1,000 women. Up to the age of 36, men outnumber women, after which the ratio reverses. At 75, there are 672 men per 1,000 women.
The proportion of single Jews is continuing to grow, especially among the young. In 2006, 76% of Jewish men aged 20-29 were single, up from 73% in 2000, and 60% of women in this age bracket were single, up from 54% in 2000. The main reason for the increase is the delay in marriage.
More than 3.8 million of Israel's population were born in the country. The largest source of origin of Israelis is Europe and America, accounting for 2.2 million people, or 38.5% of the country's Jews and others category. 15% of Jews and others, 781,000 people, originated in Africa, and 11.9%, or 611,000 people, originated in Asia. Most Jews from Asia immigrated to Israel during the 1950s and 1960s, at which point immigration almost completely ended.
Half of Israel's Jewish population lives in the center of the country - 20.7% in the Tel Aviv district and 27.8% in the central district. Less than 10% of the Jewish population lives in the north. In contrast, the bulk of the Arab population lives in outlying areas - 45% in the northern district and 11% in the southern district. More than half of the population in the northern district is Arab (53%), whereas 90% of the population in the central district and 93% of the population in the Tel Aviv district is Jewish.
44,685 couples married in Israel during 2006, of whom 33,880 were Jewish couples (76%) and 9,273 were Muslim couples (21%). 13,439 couples divorced during 2006, of whom 11,392 were Jewish (85%) and 1,134 were Muslim (8%).
151,679 children were born in Israel in 2007, 2.4% more than in 2006. The average number of children per woman of childbearing age was 2.9 in 2007. Life expectancy at birth in 2007 was 78.8 for men and 82.5 for women.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 24, 2008
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