As Yom Yerushalayim was observed on Sunday, Jerusalem City Hall released statistics pointing to what Mayor Nir Barkat calls “positive trends” in the capital 45 years following the liberation of the occupied areas of the holy city.

For the first time in 15 years, the population of students in Jerusalem’s secular schooling system is increasing. This major demographic shift highlights an improvement in the attractiveness of the city for young secular families.

The city has seen a 4% increase in qualification for matriculation among high school students in the national and national-religious educational systems.

Businesses in the center of the city, and along the route of the Jerusalem light rail, have seen an increase in revenue for the first time in many years.

According to recent polling, Jerusalem residents are satisfied with their lives and more optimistic about their future than residents of other cities around the country.

Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat: All residents of Jerusalem can feel and are enjoying, the dramatic changes taking place in the city. They support the trends, and deserve much of the credit for the great renaissance the city is experiencing. After 15 years of decline, there is an increase in the secular educational systems and a dramatic rise in qualification for matriculation. The city is breaking records in the number of tourists and our cultural and sporting events are attracting thousands of participants from Israel and abroad.

As a result of focused efforts and major investments by the Jerusalem Municipality, the city has seen a rapid scaling in the number of international businesses now investing and setting up offices in the city.

Jerusalem is reclaiming its place as the cultural capital of Israel, while simultaneously attracting more young families and gaining an international reputation for accessibility and excellence.

Jerusalem is committed to continuing to invest in education, culture, economy, and the overall ambiance of the city, in order to make it worthy of its name, its history, and its role as the capital of the State of Israel.

Educational System Scaling in Jerusalem:

After a decade and a half of consecutive decline (12%), there is has been an increase this year in the number of students in the national education system in Jerusalem.

In the school year 5772 there are 11,133 students in elementary national education institutions as opposed to 11,024 students in 5771.

Elementary religious education has also seen an increase in students after years of decline in their numbers. 11,003 students attend the religious national education institutions as opposed to 10,872 students in 5771.

After years in which no major increase in the number of students eligible to receive matriculation certificate was recorded, matriculation eligibility percentage in the national education sector has increased by 4% to 64.03% as opposed to 59.42% in 5769. Furthermore, an increase of 4% was recorded in the religious-national education sector in the school year 5770 to 68.09% as opposed to 64.27% in 5769.  An increase in eligibility for the matriculation certificate emerged following reforms initiated by the Municipality, the Knesset, and the institution of new educational programs.

The percentage of students eligible to receive the matriculation certificate, which met the university threshold requirements, was 87% in Jerusalem in comparison to 85% in the nationwide figures.

The Municipality launched this year the “Barkat Model” developed by the mayor as an administrative tool aimed for school principals. The model includes 30 indicators that examine not only grades, as was the case with previous methods, but also includes ethical and social indicators such as volunteering in the community, recruitment to the IDF, parental satisfaction, social environment, violence level and more. The model has been highly commended by principals, teachers and parents’ committees and is currently being expanded to other cities in the country.

The Young Choose Jerusalem 52% of the residents who moved to Jerusalem in 2010 are between the ages 24-30, and only 47% of the residents leaving Jerusalem are between the ages 24-30.

Satisfaction:

Jerusalem city residents are optimistic about their life: 89% of the city’s residents are satisfied with their life as opposed to 87% in Israel, and 86% in Tel Aviv.

City residents are optimistic about their future: 70% of residents feel that their lives in the future will improve as opposed to 62% in Tel Aviv and 53% in Haifa. 59% of the city’s residents are satisfied with their financial situation. 56% are satisfied with their level of income. 83% of the city’s residents are satisfied with their workplace.

Tourism: In 2011 the number of night stays in Jerusalem hotels amounted to 3,854,500 nights, 18% of all night stays in Israel.   80% of the tourists who visited in Israel in 2011 visited Jerusalem.

The most visited sites were the Wailing Wall (visited by 60% of all tourists), the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem (55%), the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (48%) and the Mount of Olives (46%).

Jerusalem was selected as one of the top 25 most sought after destinations in 2011 in a survey held by the prestigious and popular website “Tripadvisor”; Jerusalem reached the position of number 13 out of 337 tourist destinations worldwide.

Hotel revenues from tourism in 2011 amounted to NIS 1,567,497 billion. A massive summer campaign by the name “Spend two days in Jerusalem” resulted in an increase of 30% in the number of Israeli visitors in the city during the summer.

So far, in 2012 an increase of 44% has been recorded in internal tourism. The Jerusalem Municipality created a special program to facilitate and promote hotel construction, including close supervision by developers, removal of bureaucratic obstacles, distribution of grants, and decreasing municipal taxes for the purpose of encouraging developers to build additional hotel rooms in Jerusalem.

Of the new hotels that are already designed, two belong to luxury chains: the Waldorf Astoria, constructed with an investment of 150 million dollars and containing 230 rooms, and a Four Seasons hotel containing 200 rooms.

Culture and sports:

In the last three years there has been a cultural and sports revolution in Jerusalem. Culture budgets were doubled and the number of cultural events and festivals in the city has been tripled. Jerusalem has returned to center stage, attracting the major sports, cultural events and major international events in the country. Jerusalem has become the nationwide leader with the new sports and cultural complexes set up by the Municipality which are intended to host numerous and diverse events. These shows will be delivered by internationally acclaimed performers, and include the Maccabiah and a variety of other leading film, theatre and art schools in the country.

The second international Jerusalem Marathon was held this year, attended by 15,000 runners including 1,500 runners from 50 different countries worldwide. The marathon received positive feedback in Israel and worldwide and significantly contributed to the city’s economy and its branding worldwide. A new sports arena, funded in part by the Israel Lottery, is under advance construction stages and will become part of the national sports complex which also included the expanded Teddy Stadium (31,000 seats), an Olympic swimming center, an upgraded tennis center, a sports hotel, a light rail station and more.

In addition, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority set up bicycle routes, seating corners, lawns and sports and recreation facilities along HaMesila Park, from the Khan rail station and up to the Malcha rail station, along the old rail route.

City Center:

The city center occupies its natural place as Jerusalem’s principal place of business. According to R.I.S. report: for the first time in years businesses in the city center and along the light rail route have increased their income. One of the main goals set by Mayor Nir Barkat in the beginning of his tenure was intense physical and economic development in the city center for the purpose of attracting visitors and maximizing the potential inherent in the Jerusalem Light Rail. The Municipality has made intense efforts to upgrade the Jerusalem city center as the shopping, culture, recreation and leisure center for both the city’s residents and visitors. These efforts include, among other things: A higher level of maintenance, supervision and cleanliness, handling sanitary and safety challenges, business promotion and development, production of cultural events and more.

Additional figures:

Jerusalem, the nation’s capital, is the largest city in Israel, both in terms of its geographic area, 125.2 thousand dunam, and in terms of residents living in the city. In 1948 Jerusalem’s population amounted to 82,900 people. In 2011 Jerusalem’s population crossed 800,000 as 801,000 residents live in the city, of which 407,000 are Jews (62%), 281,000 Moslems (35%), 14,000 Christians (2%) and 9000 undenominational (1%).

The five cities to which city residents emigrate from Jerusalem are: 10.3% to Beit Shemesh, 8.4% to Tel Aviv, 5% to Betar Illit, Givat Ze’ev 4.7% and 4.2% to Modi’in Illit.

The word “Jerusalem” is referenced in Google 40,100,000 times.

The word “Jerusalem” appears in Google 137,000,000 times.

The average winter day temperature in Jerusalem is 12 degrees and 29 degrees in the summer.

Before its unification Jerusalem’s municipal area was 38.1 square kilometers.

The overall length of Jerusalem roads is 1,253km.

The longest street in the city in Menachem Begin Avenue, 15.7km in length.

The shortest street is A-Tabuna stairs, 7.60m in length followed by Matityahu Street, 9.55m in length.

There are 173,055 walking routes in Jerusalem.

There are 28km of highways in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is located in the Judean Mountains, therefore there are 34.9km of stairs, for the residents’ convenience.

There are 2000 archaeological sites in Jerusalem.

15,000 runners attended the Jerusalem Marathon with runners from more than 50 countries worldwide.

This summer the city will host numerous events, including: The Light Festival. The International Film Festival. The Front Stage Jerusalem Street Party. Jerusalem Season of Culture. The Wine Festival at The Israel Museum. The International Festival of Puppet Theater. Hutzot HaYotzer Festival. And numerous other events.

(Figures were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Jerusalem Municipality divisions, Tourism Bureau, Hotels Association and the Jerusalem Development Authority).

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)