On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, we look at some numbers representing Israel as it is now, as it was 30 years ago in 1988, and as it is projected to be 30 years hence, in 2048, when it will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The numbers are from the Central Bureau of Statistics and from consulting firm TASC Strategic Consulting.
In 1988, there were 1.2 million households in Israel. In 2016, there were 2.47 million. By 2048, the number is expected to double, to 5.3 million households.
All these families need somewhere to live. In the past 30 years, 1.3 million homes were built in Israel. In the next 30 years, it will be necessary to build over 2 million more.
In 1988, Israel's population was 4.5 million. In 2016, it was 8.6 million. By 2048, more than 16 million people are expected to be living in Israel.
These people are also expected to live longer. Average life expectancy, which was 76.6 years in 1988, has risen to a current 82.5 years, and is expected to reach 90 years by 2048. In the next 30 years, 1.8 million graves will be dug.
Two sections of the population, Arabs and haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews have fallen behind the rest economically. In 1988, Arabs were 18% of Israel's population. At present, their proportion is 21%. In the next 30 years, the growth in the relative size of the Arab population is projected to end, so that it will remain 21% of the total in 2048.
The proportion of haredim, on the other hand, is expected to grow dramatically, from 11% today to 25% in 2048.
3 million new jobs are expected to be created in Israel by 2048. The number of people in employment, which was 2.1 million in 1995 and rose to 3.6 million in by 2016, is expected to double to 7.3 million in 2048.
How will they get to work? A substantial proportion will of course use private cars. In the past 30 years, 2.28 million new vehicles were sold in Israel. The pace is expected to remain similar over the next 30 years, with sales projected at 2.2 million cars.
The most impressive statistics for transport, however, are the rise in rail travel. From 2.5 million passenger journeys in 1988, the number rose to nearly 60 million in 2016, and is expected to reach an altogether different order of size by 2048, with no fewer than 300 million annual passenger journeys (including by light rail), although as the traffic jams on Israel's roads worsen the number could rise even more steeply.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 22, 2018
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