The official 1997 figures will be published around August. However, the bureau estimates that 80.8 percent (4.85 million) of the population is Jewish, with the remainder comprising 900,000 Moslems (15 percent), 150,000 Christians (2.5 percent) and 100,000 Druse (1.7 percent).

The average age of the Jewish population is rising, and now 11 percent are aged 65 or older.