Israel's population nears ten million, Central Bureau of Statistics finds

Israel's population is estimated to be 9.915 million people, according to a report published by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

Approximately 7.632 million of them are Jews (77%), and about 2.067 million are Arabs (20.8%). The annual population growth rate stands at 1.6%, compared to 2.2% in 2022.

Population 

Among the respondents, secular individuals make up the largest portion of the population (43.5%). They are followed by non-religious traditionalists (18.9%), religious traditionalists (13%), religious (12.5%), and lastly, ultra-Orthodox (11.3%).

In 2023, about 46,000 people made aliyah to Israel, compared to 74,400 last year. In the past year, some 55,000 Israelis emigrated abroad, while 27,800 returned to Israel, according to the report.

Health 

In the healthcare sector, government expenditures in the past year amounted to NIS 136.3 billion shekels (7.2% of GDP), compared to NIS 131.0 billion last year.

The average life expectancy is 81 years for men and 85.5 for women. 

The report also found the leading cause of death in Israel to be cancer, accounting for over 22% of deaths.

With regard to smoking, some 18.2% of adults 20 and above smoke cigarettes daily, and 22.2% smoke either daily or occasionally.

Almost half of adults aged 20 and above are overweight, obese, or severely obese.

Education 

The governmental budget for education this year amounted to NIS 148.9 billion (8.0% of GDP), compared to NIS 138.9 billion last year.

In Israel, 1.960 million students are currently enrolled in the education system, which has 210,300 teaching staff members. The total number of students in the education system is expected to grow and reach approximately 2.769 million in the 2028/29 school year.

Nearly 300,000 students are enrolled in universities and colleges, where the average salary for faculty members is approximately 36,000 shekels.

With regard to fighting crime, government expenditures reached to NIS 27.7 billion, according to the bureau, representing 3.7% of total expenditures.

Police opened 303,000 criminal investigation cases (compared with 303,800 in 2022). In contrast, 1.075 million people were victims of crime (in contrast to 887,600 in 2022).

Some 42.7% of the cases opened were for property crimes, and 40.9% were for offenses related to public order. 

Among the victims, almost 600,000 were affected by online offenses, over 300,000 were threatened with violence, more than 200,000 were victims of sexual harassment, and 24,000 people were found to be victims of sexual offenses. Only 3.3% were affected by theft.

Welfare

A total of 1.18 million Israelis are registered for various welfare services. Over one million Israeli residents have been recognized as people with disabilities.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Israel rose by 3.0% in 2023, following a 5.3% increase in 2022. 

Business and tourism

There are 696,975 active businesses, of which 55% do not employ salaried workers. In the past year, approximately 62,200 businesses were opened, and about 51,000 were closed.

In the past year, 3.2 million tourists entered Israel (compared to 2.9 million in 2022). Additionally, the number of Israeli departures abroad was found to be 9 million in 2023 (compared to 8.4 million in 2022).

The report found that domestic tourism experienced a significant decline. Some 6.6 million trips within the country that included accommodations have been recorded. (compared to 9.4 million in 2022). Overnight stays by Israelis in tourist hotels reached 18.4 million (compared to 15.9 million in 2022), of which 4.7 million were stays by evacuees from the conflict zones in the South and North.

Transportation 

In the bus sector, revenues amounted to 1.9 billion shekels, with the average salary for salaried positions in the sector standing at NIS 22,479. The railway recorded 62.5 million passengers in the past year (compared to 54.7 million in 2022), and the sector's revenue amounted to NIS 0.6 billion.

There are over four million motor vehicles in Israel, with more than 80% being privately owned. 

Some 8,832 road accidents were recorded in the past year (compared to 10,404 in 2022), however, there was an increase in the rate of casualties and serious injuries.

The government debt amounted to NIS 1,134.5 billion, the bureau data showed.

Of the Israelis surveyed, 91.1% reported being satisfied with their financial situation and believe it will improve further in the future. Nearly 90% are satisfied with their residential area, although only 40% express satisfaction with public transportation.