Annual Rosh Hashanah Statistics: Israel Has 9.1 Million Residents, 89 Percent Are Satisfied With Lives
by Benjamin Kerstein
On the eve of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, ushering in the Jewish year of 5780, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics released its traditional end-of-the-year findings.
Israel’s population now stands at 9.092 million people — 6.744 million (74.2 percent) of whom are Jews, with 1.907 million (21 percent) Arabs and 441,000 (4.8 percent) listed as “other.”
The population is growing at 2.1 percent annually and, if current trends continue, will reach 10 million by 2024, 15 million by 2048, and 20 million by 2065.
Some 196,000 babies were born in Israel in the past year, 45,000 residents died and 38,000 people immigrated to the country.
The bureau found that Israel is largely a happy country, with 88.9 percent of citizens saying they are satisfied with their lives — 91.1 percent of Jews and 80.9 percent of Arabs.
However, there is some discontent on the economic front, with only 63.4 percent saying they are satisfied with their financial situation. 29.9 percent said they had difficulty affording their monthly expenses, and 16.5 percent said they have forgone medical care or medications for financial reasons. However, a full 66.5 percent of Israelis own their own homes.
Israelis also have a relatively high life expectancy at 84.8 years for women and 80.9 years for men.