Demographics of Israel

The demographics of Israel, monitored by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, encompass various attributes that define the nation's populace. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has witnessed significant changes in its demographics. Formed as a homeland for the Jewish people, Israel has attracted Jewish immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics defines the population of Israel as including Jews living in all of the West Bank and Palestinians in East Jerusalem but excluding Palestinians anywhere in the rest of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and foreign workers anywhere in Israel. As of December 2023, this calculation stands at approximately 9,842,000 of whom:

73.2% are Jews, including about 503,000 living outside the self-defined borders of the State of Israel in the West Bank
21.1% are Israeli citizens classified as Arab, some identifying as Palestinian, and including Druze, Circassians, all other Muslims, Christian Arabs, Armenians
An additional 5.7% are classified as "others". This diverse group comprises those with Jewish ancestry but not recognized as Jewish by religious law, non-Jewish family members of Jewish immigrants, Christians other than Arabs and Armenians, and residents without a distinct ethnic or religious categorization.

Israel's annual population growth rate stood at 2.0% in 2015, more than three times faster than the OECD average of around 0.6%. With an average of three children per woman, Israel also has the highest fertility rate in the OECD by a considerable margin and much higher than the OECD average of 1.7.

Definitions

The definition of what constitutes the population of Israel varies depending on which territories are counted and which population groups are counted in each territory.
The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics definition of the Area of the State of Israel:

includes East Jerusalem since 1967, which Israel unilaterally annexed
includes the Golan Heights since 1982, which Israel unilaterally annexed
excludes the West Bank other than East Jerusalem

The CBS' definition of the Population of Israel, however:

includes non-Israeli Palestinians in East Jerusalem who have permission to live there
includes Israeli settlers and others with Israeli residency permits living in the Area C of West Bank
excludes Palestinian/Arab/other residents of Area C and East Jerusalem who do not have Israeli citizenship or residence
excludes persons who are not registered and/or entered illegally, and foreign workers.
Population

Total population

Note: includes over 200,000 Israelis and 250,000 Arabs in East Jerusalem, about 421,400 Jewish settlers on the West Bank, and about 42,000 in the Golan Heights. Does not include Arab populations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Does not include 222,000 foreigners living in the country.

Density

Geographic deployment, as of 2018:

Central District: 24.5%
Tel Aviv District: 15.9%
Northern District: 16.2%
Southern District: 14.5%
Haifa District: 11.5%
Jerusalem District: 12.6%
Judea and Samaria Area : 4.8%
Population growth rate
2.0%

During the 1990s, the Jewish population growth rate was about 3% per year, as a result of massive immigration to Israel, primarily from the republics of the former Soviet Union. There is also a very high population growth rate among certain Jewish groups, especially adherents of Orthodox Judaism. The growth rate of the Arab population in Israel is 2.2%, while the growth rate of the Jewish population in Israel is 1.8%. The growth rate of the Arab population has slowed from 3.8% in 1999 to 2.2% in 2013, and for the Jewish population, the growth rate declined from 2.7% to its lowest rate of 1.4% in 2005. Due to a rise in fertility of the Jewish population since 1995 and immigration, the growth rate has since risen to 1.8%.

Fertility

The total fertility rate of a population is the average number of children that an average woman would have, in her lifetime.

3.01 children born/woman

Jewish total fertility rate increased by 10.2% during 1998–2009, and was recorded at 2.90 during 2009. During the same time period, Arab TFR decreased by 20.5%. Muslim TFR was measured at 3.73 for 2009, and 2.9 for 2022.
In 2000, the Jewish and Arab TFRs in Jerusalem were 3.79 and 4.43 respectively. By 2009, the Jewish TFR in Jerusalem was measured higher than the Arab TFR. As of 2021, the Jewish and Arab TFRs in Jerusalem were 4.4 and 3.1 respectively. TFR for Arab residents in the West Bank was measured at 2.91 in 2013, while that for the Jewish residents was reported at 5.10 children per woman.
The ethnic group with highest recorded TFR is the Bedouin of Negev. Their TFR was reported at 10.06 in 1998, and 5.73 in 2009. TFR is also very high among Haredi Jews. For Ashkenazi Haredim, the TFR rose from 6.91 in 1980 to 8.51 in 1996. The figure for 2008 is estimated to be even higher. TFR for Sephardi/Mizrahi Haredim rose from 4.57 in 1980 to 6.57 in 1996. In 2020 the overall Jewish TFR in Israel was for the first time measured higher than Arab Muslim TFR.
As of 2022, the fertility rates in Israeli cities dominated by specific demographic groups were: Haredi 6.1, Bedouin 4.4, Jewish non-Haredi 2.4, Arab 2.2, Druze 1.8.

Year	Jews	Muslims	Christians	Druze	Others	Total
2000	2.66	4.74	2.55	3.07		2.95
2001	2.59	4.71	2.46	3.02		2.89
2002	2.64	4.58	2.29	2.77		2.89
2003	2.73	4.50	2.31	2.85		2.95
2004	2.71	4.36	2.13	2.66	1.47	2.90
2005	2.69	4.03	2.15	2.59	1.49	2.84
2006	2.75	3.97	2.14	2.64	1.55	2.88
2007	2.80	3.90	2.13	2.49	1.49	2.90
2008	2.88	3.84	2.11	2.49	1.57	2.96
2009	2.90	3.73	2.15	2.49	1.56	2.96
2010	2.97	3.75	2.14	2.48	1.64	3.03
2011	2.98	3.51	2.19	2.33	1.75	3.00
2012	3.04	3.54	2.17	2.26	1.68	3.05
2013	3.05	3.35	2.13	2.21	1.68	3.03
2014	3.11	3.35	2.27	2.20	1.72	3.08
2015	3.13	3.32	2.12	2.19	1.72	3.09
2016	3.16	3.29	2.05	2.21	1.64	3.11
2017	3.16	3.37	1.93	2.10	1.58	3.11
2018	3.17	3.20	2.06	2.16	1.54	3.09
2019	3.09	3.16	1.80	2.02	1.45	3.01
2020	3.00	2.99	1.85	1.94	1.35	2.90
2021	3.13	3.01	1.77	2.00	1.39	3.00
2022	3.03	2.91	1.68	1.85	1.26	2.89
2023	3.01	2.85	1.65	1.75	1.20	2.85
2024	3.06	2.75	1.61	1.66	1.13	2.86
Year	Jews	Muslims	Christians	Druze	Others	Total

Birth rate

2021 :

Total: 19.7 births/1,000 population
Jews and others: 19.1 births/1,000 population
Muslims: 23.4 births/1,000 population
Christians: 13.3 births/1,000 population
Druze: 15.8 births/1,000 population

Births, in absolute numbers, by mother's religion
Between the mid-1980s and 2000, the fertility rate in the Muslim sector was stable at 4.6–4.7 children per woman; after 2001, a gradual decline became evident, reaching 3.51 children per woman in 2011. By point of comparison, in 2011, there was a rising fertility rate of 2.98 children among the Jewish population.

Life expectancy

As of 2019:

Total population: 82.8 years
Male: 81 years
Female: 84.7 years

Period	Life expectancy	Period	Life expectancy
1950–1955	68.9	1985–1990	75.9
1955–1960	70.0	1990–1995	77.2
1960–1965	71.0	1995–2000	78.3
1965–1970	71.8	2000–2005	79.6
1970–1975	72.6	2005–2010	80.9
1975–1980	73.5	2010–2015	81.9
1980–1985	74.6

Infant mortality rate

Total: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 4.20 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births
Age structure

The table shows population estimates by sex and age group, as of July 1, 2019. It includes data for East Jerusalem and Israeli residents in certain other territories under occupation by Israeli military forces since June 1967. Data refer to Israeli citizens and permanent residents who are listed in the Population Register.

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	4,494,051	4,559,975	9,054,026
0–4	469 807	444 266	914 073
5–9	441 977	419 861	861 838
10–14	396 165	376 914	773 079
15–19	365 754	349 118	714 872
20–24	331 474	319 040	650 514
25–29	312 165	304 844	617 009
30–34	299 747	298 768	598 515
35–39	289 123	292 026	581 149
40–44	277 424	282 277	559 701
45–49	251 526	257 539	509 065
50–54	210 803	217 399	428 202
55–59	191 364	204 826	396 191
60–64	178 062	196 878	374 940
65–69	166 374	188 225	354 598
70–74	131 622	154 117	285 739
75–79	73 046	91 752	164 798
80–84	58 830	81 606	140 436
85–89	31 038	48 194	79 233
90–94	12 882	23 779	36 661
95–99	3 434	6 783	10 216
100+	1 432	1 765	3 197
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1,307,949	1,241,041	2,548,990
15–64	2,707,444	2,722,713	5,430,157
65+	478 658	596 221	1,074,879