Israel at 69

Israel at 69: A statistical glimpse

  • 5/29/2017
    •    

  • Copyright: Central Bureau of Statistics
     
    ​
    A brief summary of data on Israel based on the most recently published Statistical Abstract of Israel.
    ​The State of Israel is located on the southwest tip of the Asian continent, on the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea. It at a latitude between 29° and the 33° north of the Equator.
    • Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948.
    • Israel's population at the end of 2015: 8,463,400
    • From the establishment of the State of Israel to the end of 2015, about 3.2 million immigrants arrived in Israel.
    • The Israeli currency is the New Israeli Sheqel (NIS), which is divided into 100 agorot.
    • 3,108,600 tourists visited Israel in 2015.
    • The number of households in 2015 was 2,411,700, and the average household size was 3.32 persons. 79% of the households had at least one employed person.
    • 81.3% of Israeli households have a computer, and 72.1% have an Internet connection.
     
     

    Geography
    ​​

    Israel stands at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. Geographically, it belongs to the Asian continent. Its western border is the Mediterranean Sea. To the north it is bound by Lebanon and Syria, to the east by Jordan and to the south by the Red Sea and Egypt. Long and narrow in shape, Israel is about 290 miles (470 km.) long and 85 miles (135 km.) across at its widest point. Its total area is 22,072 sq km, of which 21,643 sq km is land area (Sea of Galilee: 164 sq km; Dead Sea: 265 sq km). Israel's total land border measures 857 km, its Mediterranean coastline 194 km, and 12 km on the Red Sea. 

    The only river in Israel: The Jordan River, approximately 250 km.
    Main streams: Alexander, Besor, Hadera, Yarqon, Sa'ar, Qishon, and Soreq.

    Geographical Regions
     
    Arid zones 45%
    Plains and valleys 25%
    Mountains 16%
    Rift valley 9%
    Coastal strip 5%


    Selected elevations:
     
    Mt. Hermon, Golan - highest point in Israel 7,300 ft. 2,224 m.
    Mt. Meron, Upper Galilee 3,964 ft. 1,208 m.
    Mt. Ramon, Negev 3,396 ft. 1,035 m.
    Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem 2,739 ft. 835 m.
    Mt. Tabor, Lower Galilee 1,930 ft. 588 m.
    Mt. Carmel, Haifa 1,792 ft. 546 m.
    Dead Sea - lowest point on earth    - 1,368 ft.      - 417 m.


    Natural resources
    Raw materials for construction of buildings and roads: gravel and stone, sand, kurkar, clay, limestone, gypsum, and tuff.
    Raw materials for manufacturing: potash, bromine, magnesium, salt, phosphates, sand, clay, and limestone.
    Energy sources: natural gas, oil shale.
     
    Climate
    Israel is on a "climatic crossroad", which is a transitional area between a temperate and arid climate. The southern and eastern areas of Israel are characterized by an arid climate, while the other areas are characterized by a Mediterranean climate. Due to this climatic formation, there is high variability in the amount of precipitation from year to year, and in the different areas of the country.
    The highest temperature ever recorded in Israel was 54°C (Tirat Zvi on 21 June 1942)
    The lowest temperature ever recorded in Israel was -13.7°C (Bet Netofa Valley on 7 February 1950)

    Population
    ​​
    Population by Religion
     
    Jews 75.0%
    Muslims 17.5%
    Christians   2.0%
    Druze   1.6%
    Not classified by religion   3.9%
    		   Population Distribution
     
    Urban localities       91.4%
    Rural localities   8.6%
      Of which: 
       Moshavim
       Kibbutzim
      3.7%
     1.9%


    Largest cities by population  (End 2015)
     
    Jerusalem 865,700
    Tel Aviv-Yafo 432,900
    Haifa 278,900
    Rishon Lezion 244,000
    Petah Tikva
    		 231,000
    Immigrants by Year of Immigration 
     
    1948-1951 688,000
    1952-1959 272,000
    1960-1969 374,000
    1970-1979 346,000
    1980-1989 154,000
    1990-1999 956,300
    2000-2009
    2010-2015    		 268,300
     119,044

    From the establishment of the State of Israel to the end of 2015, about 3.2 million immigrants arrived in Israel. Today, 75 percent of Israel's Jewish population were born in Israel.
      1980 1990 End of 2015

    Population 3,921,700 4,821,700 8,463,400
    Civilian labor force 1,318,100 1,649,900 3,845,700
    Jews in Israel, 
    as a percentage of world Jewry
    25
    30
    44
    Life expectancy
       Females
       Males
    75.7
    72.1
    78.4
    75.7
    84.1
    80.1
    Infant mortality 
    (infant mortality per 1,000 live births)    		 15.6 9.9 6.4
    School population 1,200,700 1,451,300 2,580,206
    Percentage of the population (15+) 
    with 13 years or more of formal schooling
    19.2
    25.3
    46.9


    Economy

    ​ ​
      1980 1990 2015

    Gross Domestic Product 
    (NIS millions)    		 116 111,804 1,164,000
    Net exports of goods (US$ billions) 5,291.9 11,603.1 56,300.0
    Net imports of goods (US$ billions) 7,845.7 15,107.1 59,700.0
    Tourists arriving 1,065,800 1,131,700 3,108,600
    Air passengers 2,847,000 3,720,000 15,717,300
    Freight shipped by air (in tons) 105,800 194,160 275,226
    Production of electricity 
    (millions of kilwatt/hours)    		 12,400 20,900 60,340
    Private vehicles 410,000 803,000 2,583,175
     

    Education

    Students in Universities, Academic Colleges and Colleges of Education 
    1969/70 35,374
    1979/80 53,355
    1989/90 75,487
    1999/00 170,953
    2009/10 243,858
    2015 312,204
    Recipients of Degrees from Institutions of Higher Education, 2014/15
    Universities 40786
    Total 100%
    First degree 57.8%
    Second degree 35.9%
    Third degree 4.0%
     Including Open University and Ariel University
    Colleges - Total  32,764
    Total 100%
    Academic colleges – Total 24,585
    Total 75.2%
    First degree 80.8%
    Second degree 19.2%
    Colleges of education - Total 8,089
    Total 24.8%
    First degree 77.2%
    Second degree 22.8%

    * Unless specified otherwise, figures are based on the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2016