Israel’s population tops 10 million ahead of Rosh Hashana

Over the past 12 months, Israel’s population has risen by some 101,000, marking a 1% growth rate, with roughly 179,000 children born and 25,000 new immigrants.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s population is nearing 10.15 million, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, following a 1% increase in the general population over the past 12 months.

The bureau released key demographic statistics ahead of the Rosh Hashana holiday, marking population growth since the last Jewish New Year.

The Jewish state is now home to 10.148 million people — an increase of 101,000  — showing a 1% growth rate.

However, this marks a continued decline compared with recent years. From 2022 to 2023, Israel’s population grew by roughly 2%.

The slowing of Israel’s population growth was fueled both by net negative migration and a modest reduction in birth rates.

While the number of live births peaked in 2021 at 185,040, that number fell to 179,000 over the past 12 months.

The number of deaths, however, has remained relatively stable, with approximately 50,000 residents of Israel dying over the past 12 months, compared to 50,984 in 2021.

About 25,000 new immigrants arrived over the past year, with an additional 21,000 Israeli citizens returning home and some 5,000 others given residency status through family reunification.

However, this was outweighed by the roughly 79,000 Israelis who emigrated from Israel since last Rosh Hashana.

Of Israel’s population of 10.148 million, 9.888 million are Israeli citizens or permanent residents, with 260,000 foreign nationals residing in the country on visas.

Broken down by ethnic groups, 78.5% of Israeli citizens and permanent residents are in the “Jewish and others” category, totaling 7.758 million people, compared to 2.13 million Arabs, who make up 21.5% of the population, excluding the 260,000 foreigners with visas.

The CBS data released on Wednesday does not further break down Israel’s ethnic makeup.

According to the bureau’s data for 2023, Israeli Jews made up 73.2% of the population, compared to 5.7% in the “others” category, most of whom were non-Jews who immigrated to Israel from eastern Europe alongside Jewish relatives under the Law of Return.