The growing chareidi tzibur in Israel now represents 9% of the Jewish population in Israel, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reports ahead of Independence Day 69. 11% of the Jewish population of the state identify themselves as religious; 12% religious/traditional; and 24% view themselves as traditional but not really religious.

According to the numbers, most of the world’s Jews do not live in Israel as only 43% of world Jewry live in Israel today. According to the pre-Independence Day report, 174,000 Israelis were born since last Independence Day and 30,000 new immigrants moved to Israel during the same time period.

Some other populations facts include:

• Jews comprise 74.7% of the population (6,484,000)
• Arabs comprise 20.8% of the population (1,808,000)
• Others comprise 4.5% of the population (327,000)
• The population grew by 1.9% since last Independence Day (159,000)
• 75% of the population are ‘sabras’; born in Israel
• Farming exports today stand at 3% as compared to 48% in the 1950s
• There are 3,239,000 vehicles on the road; 95 times the number of vehicles in 1951
• 34.6% of the population is between newborn and 18-years-old
• The majority (54.3%) are between 19 and 64-years-old
• The seniors, 65 and older, comprise 11.1% of the population
• At the end of 2016, there were 45,000 Israelis 90 and over
• 89% of respondents are satisfied with their quality of life
• 52% of respondents believe their lives will improve in the future
• 44% of respondents believe their economic situation will improve
• In 1948, there was only one city with 100,000 or more residents. Today there are eight cities with over 200,000 residents
• In 1961, the average salary was 275 lirot, while today, it is NIS 9,800.

According to the CBS, there is a total of 8.68 million Israelis today. The prediction is that by 2048, when the state marks its 100th anniversary, Israel will be home to 15.2 million citizens.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)