On the eve of Independence Day 2019, the
Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the population of Israel at the end of 2018 numbers 8,970,000 - more than ten times the population at the establishment of the state in 1948 (806,000). Jews and others today constitute 79.1% of the population, and Arabs 20.9%. About 75% of the Jewish population is comprised today of native-born Israelis, and more than half are at least second-generation Israelis.
Since the establishment of the state, over 3.2 million immigrants arrived in Israel. As a result, the allocation of Jews in Israel as a percentage of total Jewish population in the world grew from 6% on the country’s first anniversary to 44% on the eve of the 71st.
In 1948, only Tel Aviv-Jaffa had more than 100,000 residents. Today there are 14 cities in Israel with a population of over 100,000, and 6 others with over 200,000 residents: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod and Petah Tikva.
Happy Independence Day!