According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) “The Wellbeing, Sustainability and National Resilience Indicators 2015,” an impressive 89% of Israelis are satisfied with their lives. This includes 91% of Jews who are either satisfied or very satisfied as compared with 82% of Arabs, referring to residents aged 20 and older. Non-Arab non-Jews responding to the survey are included under the category with Jews.

The report covered a range of life’s components including quality of employment, healthcare, feeling of personal security, education and skills, housing, personal & social welfare and material wealth.

81.5% of respondents were satisfied with work back in 2002, and that figure increases to 88.4% in 2015.

The report adds that life expectancy increased by 3.4 years between 2000 and 2015 for men, going from 76.7 to 80.1-years-old. Among women, the increase was a bit less; 3.2 years, from 80.9 to 84.1-years-old.

Most Israelis, 71%, are satisfied with the healthcare they receive with 15% rating it “very good” and 56% making due with a “good” rating. 60% believe that chas v’sholom in the event of serious illness, the system will provide the best care possible. 42% of respondents believe the latter to be “somewhat” true while 18% feel this is “strongly” true.

81% of respondents feel safe walking home alone at night (90% men & 72% women). However, the figure drops to only 71% in Yerushalayim.

The number of 26-year-olds who qualified for a matriculation diploma in 2015 was 48.4% (more Jews than Arabs/more women than men).

Volunteerism is up a bit from 15% in 2002 to 21% in 2015. The standard net income per capita was NIS 97,828 in 2015, which represents a 2.8% increase from the previous year.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)