On the eve of Israel's 67th Independence Day, Israel's population has climbed to 8,345,000, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. When Israel was established in 1948, the population was just 806,000.
Israel's Jewish population numbers 6,251,000 (74.9%) and there are 1,730,000 Arabs (20.7%) and 364,000 others (Christians, non-Arabs and other religions) (4.4%).
Since last Independence Day Israel's population has grown by 2%. Over the past year 176,000 Israeli babies have been born, 44,000 people have died, and 32,000 people have immigrated to Israel.
75% of Israelis were born in the country compared with 35% in 1948.
In 1948, Tel Aviv-Jaffa was Israel's only city with a population exceeding 100,000. Today Israel has 14 cities with a population of more than 100,000 including nine cities with a population of more than 200,000 - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheva, Netanya, Ashdod, Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, and Holon.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2015
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