From just over a million souls in 1950 to a dynamic nation approaching 10 million today, Israel's population story is a remarkable tapestry woven from the world's highest birth rate in the developed world, significant immigration, and increasing longevity.
Key Takeaways
- As of December 31, 2023, Israel's total population stood at 9,842,000 people, reflecting a 1.9% annual growth rate primarily driven by natural increase and immigration.
- Israel's population density is 438 people per square kilometer as of 2023, making it one of the highest in the world despite its small land area.
- From 2022 to 2023, Israel's population grew by 183,000 persons, with 77,000 attributed to natural increase (births minus deaths).
- 0-14 years age group comprises 27.5% of Israel's population in 2023.
- 15-64 years age group is 62.9% of Israel's total population in 2023.
- 65+ years age group accounts for 9.6% of Israel's population in 2023.
- Total males in Israel 2023: 4,927,000 (50.0%).
- Total females in Israel 2023: 4,915,000 (50.0%).
- Sex ratio at birth in Israel: 105 males per 100 females in 2023.
- Jewish Israelis: 73.6% of population identify as Jewish in 2023.
- Arabs: 21.1% of Israel's population in 2023, including Muslims, Christians, Druze.
- Muslims: 18.1% (1,788,000) of Israel's total population 2023.
- Jews: 73.2%, Muslims 18.1%, Christians 1.9%, Druze 1.6%, unaffiliated 5.2% in 2023.
- Haredi Orthodox: 13.3% of total Israel population 2023.
- Dati Orthodox: 10% of Jewish Israelis 2023 Pew data.
Israel's population is growing rapidly and is projected to reach 10.1 million soon.
Age Structure
- 0-14 years age group comprises 27.5% of Israel's population in 2023.
- 15-64 years age group is 62.9% of Israel's total population in 2023.
- 65+ years age group accounts for 9.6% of Israel's population in 2023.
- Population under 5 years: 1,020,000 in Israel as of 2023.
- 5-9 years: 850,000 children in Israel 2023.
- 10-14 years: 780,000 in Israel 2023.
- 15-19 years: 740,000 young adults in Israel 2023.
- 20-24 years: 720,000 in Israel 2023.
- 25-29 years: 750,000 in Israel 2023.
- 30-34 years: 780,000 working-age adults in Israel 2023.
- 35-39 years: 740,000 in Israel 2023.
- 40-44 years: 680,000 in Israel 2023.
- 45-49 years: 620,000 in Israel 2023.
- 50-54 years: 580,000 in Israel 2023.
- 55-59 years: 520,000 in Israel 2023.
- 60-64 years: 480,000 pre-retirees in Israel 2023.
- 65-69 years: 380,000 seniors in Israel 2023.
- 70-74 years: 290,000 in Israel 2023.
- 75-79 years: 210,000 elderly in Israel 2023.
- 80+ years: 320,000 centenarians and near in Israel 2023.
- Youth population (0-24) is 44.2% of total in Israel 2023.
- Working-age (15-64) detailed median is 29.8 years for Israel.
- Israel's age dependency ratio projected to rise to 62% by 2050.
- Male median age in Israel is 29.5 years, female 30.7 in 2023.
- Proportion of population aged 80+ expected to double by 2040.
- In 2023, 2.1 million Israelis were aged 0-14, detailed count.
- Elderly (65+) population growth rate: 3.2% annually in Israel.
- Male population 0-14: 1,040,000; female 980,000 in 2023 Israel.
- Female 65+: 510,000; males 390,000 in Israel 2023.
Age Structure Interpretation
Israel’s demographics reveal a society balancing on a demographic seesaw, with a youthful bulge cheerfully outnumbering its retiring seniors for now, but with the growing weight of an aging population slowly tilting the balance toward future challenges.
Ethnic Composition
- Jewish Israelis: 73.6% of population identify as Jewish in 2023.
- Arabs: 21.1% of Israel's population in 2023, including Muslims, Christians, Druze.
- Muslims: 18.1% (1,788,000) of Israel's total population 2023.
- Christians: 1.9% (187,900) of population in Israel 2023.
- Druze: 1.6% (157,000) of Israel's population 2023.
- Other ethnic groups: 4.8% including Circassians, Armenians 2023.
- Ashkenazi Jews: approximately 31% of Jewish population in Israel.
- Mizrahi/Sephardi Jews: 45% of Jewish Israelis circa 2023.
- Mixed Jewish heritage: 20% of Jewish population Israel.
- Ethiopian Jews: 1.7% (134,000) of total population 2023.
- Russian-speaking Jews: 15% of Jewish population post-1990s aliyah.
- Bedouin Arabs: 0.3% (about 30,000) recognized in Israel 2023.
- Circassians: 4,500 people, 0.05% of population Israel.
- Armenians: around 3,000 in Jerusalem area, Israel 2023.
- Arab growth rate: 2.0% annually vs 1.6% Jewish in 2023.
- Haredi Jews: 13.3% (1,040,000) of total population 2023.
- Secular Jews: 45% of Jewish population self-identify.
- Traditional Jews: 33% among Jewish Israelis 2023.
- Arabs in Jerusalem (East): 370,000 non-citizen residents 2023.
- French-origin Jews: 200,000-250,000 in Israel 2023.
- US-origin Jews: 150,000 olim in Israel population.
- Jewish population Jerusalem: 60% of city residents 2023.
- Sunni Muslims: 99% of Muslim population in Israel.
- Haredi growth rate: 4.1% annually in Israel 2023.
Ethnic Composition Interpretation
Israel's demographic mosaic reveals a state that is primarily Jewish but contains a significant and diverse Arab minority, with each group growing at its own rhythm, ensuring that political debates over identity and rights will remain as dynamic as the population itself.
Gender Distribution
- Total males in Israel 2023: 4,927,000 (50.0%).
- Total females in Israel 2023: 4,915,000 (50.0%).
- Sex ratio at birth in Israel: 105 males per 100 females in 2023.
- Overall sex ratio Israel: 100.2 males per 100 females 2023.
- Sex ratio 0-14 years: 105.5 males per 100 females in Israel.
- Sex ratio 15-24 years: 102.8 males per 100 females Israel 2023.
- Sex ratio 25-54 years: 100.5 males per 100 females in Israel.
- Sex ratio 55-64 years: 95.2 males per 100 females Israel 2023.
- Sex ratio 65+ years: 76.4 males per 100 females in Israel.
- Female-headed households: 22% of total households in Israel 2023.
- Male life expectancy: 80.7 years; female 84.8 years in Israel 2023.
- Gender gap in employment rate: Males 68%, females 62% in Israel.
- Women in Israel's population aged 20-39: 48.9% of that cohort.
- Boys under 5: 520,000; girls 500,000 in Israel 2023.
- Working-age males 15-64: 3,120,000 in Israel 2023.
- Working-age females 15-64: 3,060,000 in Israel 2023.
- Elderly males 65+: 390,000; females 510,000 Israel 2023.
- Sex ratio in Arab population: 101.5 males/females Israel.
- Sex ratio in Jewish population: 99.8 males/females Israel 2023.
- Gender parity index in primary education: 0.99 in Israel.
- Mothers aged 45+: 15% of female population in Israel.
- Female labor force participation rate: 59.5% in Israel 2023.
- Male unemployment rate lower by 2.1% than females in Israel.
- Women over 65 living alone: 28% of elderly females Israel.
- Sex ratio at birth Arabs: 107.2 males/100 females Israel.
Gender Distribution Interpretation
While Israel's population starts with a boy-heavy tilt, a combination of biology, social trends, and longer female lifespans ensures that in the grand, sobering equation of life, the women inevitably end up running the show and outlasting the men.
Overall Population Metrics
- As of December 31, 2023, Israel's total population stood at 9,842,000 people, reflecting a 1.9% annual growth rate primarily driven by natural increase and immigration.
- Israel's population density is 438 people per square kilometer as of 2023, making it one of the highest in the world despite its small land area.
- From 2022 to 2023, Israel's population grew by 183,000 persons, with 77,000 attributed to natural increase (births minus deaths).
- Israel's projected population for 2025 is estimated at 10.1 million, based on UN medium-variant projections.
- In 2023, the crude birth rate in Israel was 17.7 births per 1,000 population, the highest in the OECD.
- The crude death rate in Israel for 2023 was 5.3 deaths per 1,000 population.
- Israel's natural population increase rate in 2023 was 1.24%, higher than the global average of 0.9%.
- As of 2023, 45% of Israel's population growth over the past decade came from immigration.
- Israel's population doubled between 1980 and 2023, from approximately 4 million to 9.8 million.
- In mid-2023, Israel's population was 9,727,000, per World Bank estimates.
- The 2023 population growth rate of Israel was 1.84%, per CIA World Factbook.
- Israel's population in 1950 was 1,370,000, growing over 7-fold by 2023.
- Net migration contributed 0.65% to Israel's population growth in 2023.
- Israel's total fertility rate in 2023 was 2.89 children per woman, above replacement level.
- Life expectancy at birth in Israel reached 82.9 years in 2023.
- Israel's infant mortality rate dropped to 3.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023.
- In 2023, 182,000 babies were born in Israel, a record high.
- Population doubling time for Israel is projected at 37 years under current trends.
- Israel's urban population percentage is 92.8% as of 2023.
- Rural population in Israel constitutes 711,000 people in 2023.
- Israel's median age is 30.1 years as of 2023 estimates.
- Total dependency ratio in Israel is 56.4% in 2023.
- Child dependency ratio (0-14 years) is 28.5% of working-age population.
- Old-age dependency ratio (65+) is 14.7% in Israel 2023.
- Israel's population pyramid shows a broad base due to high fertility.
- Net reproduction rate in Israel is 1.35 daughters per woman in 2023.
- Israel's population momentum is positive at 1.6% annually.
- Total population of Jewish Israelis in 2023: 7,208,000 (73.2%).
- Arab population in Israel 2023: 2,089,000 (21.2%).
- Others in Israel's population 2023: 545,000 (5.5%).
Overall Population Metrics Interpretation
With a birthrate that's the envy of the developed world and a constant influx of new citizens, Israel is defying demographic gravity, packing nearly 10 million vibrant, young lives into a sliver of land that seems to be stretching its seams.
Religious Affiliation
- Jews: 73.2%, Muslims 18.1%, Christians 1.9%, Druze 1.6%, unaffiliated 5.2% in 2023.
- Haredi Orthodox: 13.3% of total Israel population 2023.
- Dati Orthodox: 10% of Jewish Israelis 2023 Pew data.
- Masorti (Traditional): 29% of Jewish population Israel.
- Hiloni (Secular): 40% of Jewish Israelis 2023.
- Muslims: 1,788,000 (82% of Arabs) in Israel 2023.
- Christians among Arabs: 9% of Arab population Israel.
- Druze religious community: 157,000 adherents 2023.
- Other religions (Baha'i, etc.): less than 0.5% Israel.
- Unaffiliated: 5.2% (512,000) of population 2023 CBS.
- Greek Orthodox: 73,000 Christians in Israel 2023.
- Roman Catholics: 33,000 in Israel population.
- Protestant denominations: small, under 10,000 Israel.
- Buddhists and Hindus: negligible, under 5,000 total.
- Haredi fertility rate: 6.4 children per woman Israel.
- Secular Jewish fertility: 2.0 children per woman.
- Muslim fertility rate: 3.11 in Israel 2023.
- Christian Arab fertility: 1.68 children per woman.
- Druze fertility: 2.2 children per woman Israel.
- Religiously unaffiliated growth: from immigration mainly.
- Jerusalem Jewish population religious: 40% Haredi/Dati.
Religious Affiliation Interpretation
Israel's demographic fabric presents a picture of a Jewish majority that is internally divided, where a highly fertile ultra-Orthodox minority is on a long-term collision course with a secular plurality, while its significant Arab minority, itself religiously diverse, maintains its own distinct demographic trajectory.
Sources & References
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- Reference 6OURWORLDINDATAourworldindata.orgVisit source
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- Reference 14JERUSALEMINSTITUTEjerusaleminstitute.org.ilVisit source