The population of Israel has grown more than tenfold since the state’s establishment in 1948.
In statistics released to coincide with Israel Independence Day on May 12, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the state has 8.52 million residents, compared with 806,000 in 1948.
In the past year alone, Israel’s population has grown by 182,000, or 2.2 percent, thanks to a birthrate that exceeded the death rate, as well as the arrival of 36,000 immigrants.
Jews now make up 74.8 percent of the population and Arabs 20.8 percent. The remaining 4.4 percent are non-Arab Christians and people with no reported religion, mostly from the former Soviet Union.
According to the report, Israel is now home to 43 percent of the world’s Jews, compared with just 6 percent in 1948. The population is estimated to reach 11.3 million by 2035.
Among other findings:
• Three-quarters of the population was born in Israel, compared with 35 percent in 1948.
• Ownership of household appliances has grown dramatically since the 1950s. As of 2014, 96 percent of Israelis had a washing machine (compared with 12 percent in 1956), 99.9 percent (compared with 37 percent in 1956) owned a refrigerator, and 87 percent (compared with 10 percent in 1957) had air conditioning. While only 13 percent of Israelis had a telephone in 1963, today 96 percent have cellphones.
• Voting rates have declined since 1949, when 86.9 percent of the population voted, compared with 72.4 percent who voted in the most recent elections. — jta