Fireworks in Tel Aviv for Israel's Independence Day. Jewish residents in Israel number 6,251,000. Photo: Oren Peles via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics published new figures ahead of Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) showing that the country’s population stands at 8,345,000, about 10.4 times greater than the population of 806,000 when the Jewish state was founded in 1948.

Jewish residents number 6,251,000, comprising 74.9 percent of the population. The Arab population, which stands at 1,730,000, represents 20.7 percent of the general public. Non-Arab Christians, members of other religions, and new immigrants—who according to the population registry are not part of any religious group—comprise 364,000 people (4.4 percent).

Israel’s population grew by 162,000—2 percent—since last year’s Independence Day. A record 176,000 babies were born during that period, and 44,000 residents died. Some 32,000 people made aliyah since the last Yom Ha’atzmaut.