8.58 million

8.58 million

That’s the number of citizens Israel will have on Rosh Hashanah 5777, according to the annual pre-holiday data dump from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

As those of you who remember last year’s number already will have calculated, that reflects a growth of about 2 percent, on track with recent years.

The country’s Jewish population, which makes up nearly three quarters of the country at 6.419 million, grew at a rate of 1.9 percent, while the Arab population, which makes up just over a fifth of the country at 1.786 million, grew at a rate of 2.2 percent.

Other groups, including non-Arab Christians and those identifying with other religions, which make up 4.4 percent of the population at 380,000, grew at a rate of 3.8 percent.

The birth rate surpassed the death rate, with 189,000 births and 46,000 deaths.

In 5766, 30,000 people moved to Israel, including 25,000 new immigrants.

JTA Wire Service

read more:
comments