Israel's population crosses 8 million mark
On the eve of the Day of Remembrance
for fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism, Israel's
population numbers some 8,018,000 people, stated the Central Bureau of Statistics
(CBS) on Sunday. Israel's population increased almost 10-fold since the founding of the State in 1948, when it stood at only 806,000. Related stories: According to the new data, the Jewish
population stands at about 6,042,000 (75.3% of the total population), the Arab at 1,658,000 (20.7%) and the "others" – non-Arab Christians,
other religions and non-specified – stand at 318,000 (4.0%). Since the last Independence Day, Israel's population has grown by 137,000. In this time, 163,000 babies were born and 41,000 people died. About 19,500 olim
immigrated to Israel. The CBS data also showed that in 2010 more than 70% of the Jewish population was born in Israel (and more than half were at least second generation), compared to only 35% in 1948. When the State was declared in 1948, Tel Aviv
was the only city with more than 100,000 residents. Today, 14 cities have a population of more than 100,000; six cities have more than 200,000 residents: Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv, Haifa,
Rishon Lezion,
Ashdod
and Petah Tikva.