Ahead of Independence Day: 9.9 million people living in Israel

(A7) On the eve of Israel’s 76th Independence Day, the population of Israel was 9.900 million, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported.

Comprising Israel’s population are 7.427 million Jews (73.2%), 2.089 million Arabs -Muslims, Arab Christians and Druze (21.1%), and 564,000 others (5.7%). “Others” is defined as non-Arab Christians, other religions, and those registered as not classified by religion.

Since last year’s Independence Day, Israel’s population has grown by 189,000 (an increase of 1.9%). During this period, about 196,000 infants were born, about 37,000 immigrants arrived, and about 60,000 people died. Additional growth components include family reunifications, and balancing for Israelis staying abroad for over a year.

At the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, the population of Israel was 806,000. It has increased by a factor higher than 12 since then.

Since the State’s founding, over 3.4 million immigrants have arrived in Israel, about 1.6 million (47.1%) of them arrived since 1990. Since 1970, about 153,000 immigrating citizens have also settled in the country.