Israel Reaches 10,244,000 People as Independence Day Turns 78

On the eve of the 78th Independence Day, Israel's population stands at 10,244,000 people, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today (Sunday).

7,790,000 residents (76%) are Jews or classified as 'others'—such as non-Arab Christians and those registered with no religious classification. 2,157,000 residents (21.1%) are Arabs, and 296,000 are foreign workers (2.9%).

According to the published figures, since last Independence Day Israel's population grew by 146,000 people (an increase of 1.4%). The Israeli population grew by 110,000 (1.1%), and the foreign population grew by about 36,000.

During this period, among Israelis there were about 177,000 births, about 21,000 *olim* arrived, about 48,000 people died, the net balance of Israelis staying abroad was about 45,000 (negative), and 5,000 people arrived under family reunification.

Since the state's establishment, when Israel had 806,000 residents, the number has jumped 12.5-fold. The data also show that Israel's population is young: about 27% are children ages 0–14 and about 13% are 65 and older.

The data also show that since the state's establishment, more than 3.5 million *olim* have come to Israel, of whom about 1.68 million (47.8%) have arrived since 1990. Since 1970, about 158,000 citizen *olim* have also made *aliyah* to Israel.

In addition, 15.8 million Jews live worldwide, more than 7 million of them in Israel (about 45%). At the end of 2024, about 45% of the world's Jewish population lived in Israel. About 81% of Jews in Israel are 'sabras' (native-born Israelis).