Israel’s food market in Tel Aviv, the Carmel Market
On the eve of the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah – Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on the country’s overall population and demographic breakdowns. Israel has a current population of approximately 9.795 million.
According to the CBS, Israel’s overall population grew over the past year by an estimated 2% with 172,000 babies born and the arrival of 74,000 immigrants.
The country will break the 10 million mark in people sometime early in 2024. This statistic covers all Israeli citizens who actually reside full-time in the country and includes all of the country’s ethnic groups, not just Jews. Israel is expected to have 16 million people by 2048, the CBS said, and by 2065 its population is expected to double.
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OK, so people are concerned everywhere about worldwide overpopulation. The ever increasing number of people in the world – soon to break the nine billion mark – only contributes to the problem of climate change. More people means more energy is used, more waste produced, more of the world’s ever shrinking fresh water supply is used up and more food needs to be produced using more energy and natural resources.
But Israel, and the Jewish people, are different. By current estimates, there are only 16 million Jews in the world, less than the 18 million on the eve of the Holocaust, or 0.2% of the world population. Even if you expand the definition of who is a Jew, there are maybe 20 million.
In the past 80 years, the world’s population has quadrupled. There were about 12 million Jews in the world after the Holocaust, which means the Jewish population has increased since then by maybe 50%. So, Jews are an endangered species.
Israel’s CBS also reported that the Jewish state has a population of 7.181 million Jews, or 73% of the total. 2.065 million (21%) are Arabs – both Christians and Muslims – and 549,000 (5%) identify with other groups.
Of the Jews in Israel who are at least 20 years old, 44% are secular, 45% identify as traditional or religious, and 11% Orthodox.
The CBS also reported that the average life expectancy for Israeli men rose slightly over the past year to 80.7 years, compared to 84.8 years for women.
Among Jewish Israelis, David was the most commonly chosen name for boys born in 5783, followed by Ariel and then Lavi.
Overall, Muhammad remained the most popular name for Israeli newborns. Second place went to Adam, with Yosef/Yusef (Joseph)ranking third.
Avigayil was the most popular name for Jewish girls, and also in the overall ranking. Tamar came in second, both in the Jewish sector and overall. Other popular girl names included Miriam, Sarah and Yael.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown on Friday.
