(Israel Central Bureau of Statistics)

Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is the largest city in the country - the largest in area (about 48.4 sq. miles) and the largest in population. In 1948 the population of Jerusalem was 82,900. By the end of 2012, Jerusalem had 815,300 residents, approximately 10% of the total population of the state of Israel. The Jewish and other non-Arab population in the city totaled approximately 515,200 (63% of the total population), and the Arab population numbered approximately 300,100 (37%).

Sources of population growth

In 2012, the population of Jerusalem grew by 12,400 residents. This growth stemmed mainly from the high natural increase (number of births minus number of deaths), which added about 19,200 people to the city’s population. Another 2,800 approximately were added as a result of international immigration.

The internal immigration balance in Jerusalem continued to be negative, reducing growth by about 8,700 people - the difference between the approximately 10,500 people who moved to Jerusalem and the approximately 19,200 people who left the city. Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv-Yafo, and Beit Shemesh were the main sources of immigration to Jerusalem. Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv-Yafo, and Beitar Ilit were the main cities to which people emigrated from Jerusalem.

Births and fertility

•    Births: There were about 22,800 births in Jerusalem in 2012. Jewish women accounted for approximately 14,730 of these births (about 65%) and Arab women accounted for approximately 8,080 (about 35%). Births in Jerusalem accounted for approximately 13.3% of all births in Israel during 2012.

•    Fertility: The total birth rate (average number of children per woman) in Jerusalem in 2012 was 3.97, higher than the nationwide average of 3.05.

Households and Families[1]

•    Jerusalem had about 205,000 households in 2013, approximately 9% of all the households in the country. The average household in Jerusalem numbered 3.9 persons (compared to the nationwide average of 3.3), more than the average in the other big cities: Ashdod (3.3), Rishon Lezion (3.1), Petah Tikva (3.0), Haifa (2.5) and Tel Aviv (2.2).

•    The average household among the Jewish population in Jerusalem numbered 3.3 persons (compared with a 3.1 nationwide average). The average household among the Arab population numbered 5.7 persons (compared with a 4.8 nationwide average).

Figures from a 2013 social survey
(The figures are for people aged 20 and above)

Level of satisfaction and optimism

Of the adult population in Jerusalem, 88% were satisfied with their lives, compared to 85% of residents in the rest of Israel. 90% of the Jews in Jerusalem were satisfied with their lives, compared to 88% of the Jews in the rest of Israel. 85% of the Arabs in Jerusalem were satisfied with their lives, compared with 70% of the Arabs in the rest of Israel).

Degree of religious observance among Jews in Jerusalem

35% of the Jews in Jerusalem defined themselves as ultra-Orthodox (charedim), 18% defined themselves as religiously observant, 12% as religiously traditional, 14% as traditional and not-so-religious, and 20% as secular (the approximately 1% remaining did not define themselves). In the rest of Israel, 7% defined themselves as ultra-Orthodox, 10% as religiously observant, 14% as religiously traditional, 24% as traditional and not-so-religious, and 45% as secular.

Education

•    In the academic year 2012/13, 36,300 students studied in all of the institutions of higher learning in Jerusalem: 18,500 at Hebrew University,[2] 11,800 at seven academic colleges, and 6,000 at four teachers’ colleges.[3]

•    A majority (60.2%) of the students at institutions of higher learning in Jerusalem consisted of women; this majority was especially large at the teachers’ colleges (81.0%). Women constituted the majority of students at almost all the institutions, except for the Azrieli College of Engineering - Jerusalem (33.3% women) and Herzog College, affiliated with the Lifshitz and Herzog Colleges (47.4%).

•    7.8% of the students studying in Jerusalem were Arabs, including 9.5% of the students at Hebrew University. The highest proportion of Arab students was at the academic colleges: the David Yellin Academic College of Education (18.5%), the Hadassah Jerusalem Academic College (15.1%), and the Azrieli College of Engineering - Jerusalem (11.1%).

Housing and construction

There were approximately 204,000 residences in Jerusalem in April 2013 - a rate of about 250 residences per 1,000 residents. This rate was lower than the rate in Israel’s five other largest cities: Tel Aviv-Yafo (466 residences per 1,000 residents), Haifa (425 residences), Petah Tikva (354 residences), Rishon LeZion (316 residences), and Ashdod (295 residences). Construction of approximately 2,430 housing units was completed in 2013, about 38% more than the approximately 1,760 housing units whose construction was completed in 2012.

The area of construction completed for all purposes in Jerusalem in 2013 totaled 677,100 sq. meters. About 75% of this construction consisted of residential construction, about 12% commercial buildings and offices, about 10% public buildings, and about 3% industrial construction.

[1] A household is one person or a group of persons living permanently together in one residence most days of the week and having a joint food budget. A household can include people who are not relatives.
Family – (nuclear family) – two or more people living in the same household who are either a married or unmarried couple, or who are a parent and the parent’s child. The main types of family are a couple living alone, a couple with children (in various age groups according to the age of the youngest child), and a single parent living with his or her child(ren).
The figures for households and families are based on a 2013 personnel survey. They do not include people living in institutions, on kibbutzim, in student dormitories, or outside recognized communities (Bedouin in the south and others).  
[2] Excluding students in the Faculty of Agriculture, who study in Rehovot.
[3] Excluding students who studied at the Open University - studies at this institution take place all over Israel.