People sit at an outdoor cafe near the Carmel Market as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions ease in Tel Aviv, Israel October 14, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

JNS.org – Israel’s population increased by 2.2 percent in 2022 to a total of 9,656,000, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures released on Thursday.

Of the country’s residents, 7,106,000 are Jews (73.6 percent), 2,037,000 are Arabs (21.1 percent) and 513,000 are of other denominations.

The population increase dwarfed the 1.8 percent growth in 2021, with the difference being attributed in part to a larger number of immigrants in the past 12 months.

Approximately 73,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel during 2022, compared to 25,000 last year, 80 percent of them coming from Russia and Ukraine.

Jewish Agency data for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2022, shows that 37,364 immigrants arrived from Russia; 14,680 from Ukraine; 3,500 from North America with assistance from Nefesh B’Nefesh; 2,049 from France; 1,993 from Belarus; 1,498 from Ethiopia as part of Operation Tzur Israel; 985 from Argentina; 526 from Great Britain; 426 from South Africa; and 356 from Brazil. Final totals for 2022 will be available after the year concludes.

“It was a dramatic year that emphasized the value of mutual responsibility among the Jewish people, and during which the Jewish Agency helped strengthen the resilience of Jewish communities, empowered weaker populations in Israel, brought tens of thousands of olim, saved lives from all over Ukraine and brought them to a safe harbor in Israel,” said Jewish Agency Chairman and IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog.

Overall in 2022, approximately 204,000 persons were added to the Israeli population, including 178,000 infants (74.8 percent born to Jewish mothers and 23.8 percent to Arab mothers), while some 52,000 persons died and approximately 4,000 Israelis left the country for at least 12 months.