As of 2024, the population of Israel reached about *** million permanent residents in total. About *** million were registered as Jews or other non-Arab populations. Furthermore, some *** million Arabs lived in the country.

Israel's population is aging steadily, with the median age projected to rise from ** years in 2020 to ** years by 2050. This demographic shift reflects global trends of increasing life expectancy and declining birth rates, though Israel maintained a relatively young population compared to many developed nations. The country's unique religious and cultural makeup contributed to regional variations in age distribution, presenting both opportunities and challenges for policymakers. Which region has the oldest population? As of 2023, over a ******* of Israelis were under the age of 14 years. The largest age group in the country being ************** and below. Interestingly, significant regional differences existed within the country when it came to age distribution and aging. While the median age in the Jerusalem district was below **, Tel Aviv was the oldest region with an average age of over ** years, highlighting significant demographic variations across different areas. How does religion influence demographics? Religious affiliation played a role in Israel's age structure and demographics. Muslims are the youngest religious group with a median age of ** years, while Christians of Arab ethnicity are the oldest, at ** years. Jews, the largest religious-ethnic group, had a median age of almost ** years, but within the Jewish demographic, age and fertility varied greatly between people based on religiosity. These differences play a significant role in the country's population and future growth patterns.

As of 2023, the youngest population group by religion in Israel were Muslims, with a median age of 24 years. On the other hand, the religious group was that of Christians of Arab ethnicity, at 35 years. The median age among Jews, the most populous group in the country, was 31.6.

Between Oct. 14, 2014, and May 21, 2015, Pew Research Center, with generous funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Neubauer Family Foundation, completed 5,601 face-to-face interviews with non-institutionalized adults ages 18 and older living in Israel.

The survey sampling plan was based on six districts defined in the 2008 Israeli census. In addition, Jewish residents of West Bank (Judea and Samaria) were included.

The sample includes interviews with 3,789 respondents defined as Jews, 871 Muslims, 468 Christians and 439 Druze. An additional 34 respondents belong to other religions or are religiously unaffiliated. Five groups were oversampled as part of the survey design: Jews living in the West Bank, Haredim, Christian Arabs, Arabs living in East Jerusalem and Druze.

Interviews were conducted under the direction of Public Opinion and Marketing Research of Israel (PORI). Surveys were administered through face-to-face, paper and pencil interviews conducted at the respondent's place of residence. Sampling was conducted through a multi-stage stratified area probability sampling design based on national population data available through the Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics' 2008 census.

The questionnaire was designed by Pew Research Center staff in consultation with subject matter experts and advisers to the project. The questionnaire was translated into Hebrew, Russian and Arabic, independently verified by professional linguists conversant in regional dialects and pretested prior to fieldwork.

The questionnaire was divided into four sections. All respondents who took the survey in Russian or Hebrew were branched into the Jewish questionnaire (Questionnaire A). Arabic-speaking respondents were branched into the Muslim (Questionnaire B), Christian (Questionnaire C) or Druze questionnaire (D) based on their response to the religious identification question. For the full question wording and exact order of questions, please see the questionnaire.

Note that not all respondents who took the questionnaire in Hebrew or Russian are classified as Jews in this study. For further details on how respondents were classified as Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze in the study, please see sidebar in the report titled "http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/israels-religiously-divided-society/" Target="_blank">"How Religious are Defined".

Following fieldwork, survey performance was assessed by comparing the results for key demographic variables with population statistics available through the census. Data were weighted to account for different probabilities of selection among respondents. Where appropriate, data also were weighted through an iterative procedure to more closely align the samples with official population figures for gender, age and education. The reported margins of sampling error and the statistical tests of significance used in the analysis take into account the design effects due to weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error and other practical difficulties, one should bear in mind that question wording also can have an impact on the findings of opinion polls.

In 2023, there were 179,400 Christians living in Israel. Christians of Arabic ethnic background accounted for the majority, with 141,800 individuals. Non-Arab Christians comprised 37,600 people in the country.

Israel IL: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 5.100 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.300 Ratio for 2015. Israel IL: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 6.300 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.200 Ratio in 1972 and a record low of 5.100 Ratio in 2016. Israel IL: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Israel – Table IL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Abstract

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system.

The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Household

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: Not available in microdata sample - Vacant units: Not available in microdata sample - Households: Yes - Individuals: Yes - Group quarters: Includes but not identified - Special populations: No special populations

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Households: Persons who share a dwelling and food budget. In general, a household corresponds to family since members of a family usually share a food budget. Usually, most dwelling contain one household. - Group quarters: An administrative unit that provides dormitory facilities and usually food services to at least five individuals.

Universe

Israeli citizens, permanent residents without Israeli citizenship and potential immigrants who, on the census day, lived in the area covered, including those who had been away from the covered area for less than one year. The population also included tourists.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Central Bureau of Statistics - Israel

SAMPLE DESIGN: Systematic sample of every 5th household after a random start. 1-in-2 sample drawn from that by MPC.

SAMPLE UNIT: Household

SAMPLE FRACTION: 10%

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 556,365

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Two types of questionnaires were prepared for the census, a short and long questionnaire. The short questionnaire consisted of five question covering basic demographic topics for each person residing in the household. These questionnaries were distributed to 80 percent of the dwellings.

Response rate

COVERAGE: 99.30%

The number of households registered as Jewish in Israel reached roughly 2.36 million in 2023. In the same year, 469,300 households were registered as Arab, while 93,700 households were registered as belonging to population groups of other religions.

Abstract

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system.

The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Household

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: Not available in microdata sample - Vacant units: Not available in microdata sample - Households: Yes - Individuals: Yes - Group quarters: Includes but not identified - Special populations: No special populations

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Households: Each person living alone and each group of related persons living in a single dwelling unit constitutes a household. Unrelated persons living in a single dwelling unit constitute a household if they prepare meals of their meals together. - Group quarters: An administrative unit that provides dormitory facilities and usually food services to at least five individuals.

Universe

Persons who on the census night lived at an address in the area covered, including those found abroad on the census night who had been absent from the area covered for less than one year.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Central Bureau of Statistics - Israel

SAMPLE DESIGN: Systematic sample of every 5th household after a random start. 1-in-2 sample drawn from that by MPC.

SAMPLE UNIT: Household

SAMPLE FRACTION: 10%

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 403,474

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Two enumeration forms were used: a "short form" and a "long form". The "short form" was given to 80 percent of the families and comprised questions concerning basic demographic topics for each person in the family. The rest of families (20 percent) were given the long form.

Response rate

COVERAGE: 97.73%

At the end of 2023, the population of Israel reached almost 9.7 million permanent residents. Jewish residents formed the largest religious group, with just over 7.15 million people. The Muslim population in the country, formed the largest religious minority at over 1.7 million individuals. Conversely, the smallest religious group was that of the Druze with about 151,000 people.

Israel IL: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 459.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 495.000 Person for 2016. Israel IL: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 818.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,541.000 Person in 2007 and a record low of 16.000 Person in 1990. Israel IL: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Israel – Table IL.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Jews were the dominant religious group in the Israel-Palestine region at the beginning of the first millennia CE, and are the dominant religious group there today, however, there was a period of almost 2,000 years where most of the world's Jews were displaced from their spiritual homeland. Antiquity to the 20th century Jewish hegemony in the region began changing after a series of revolts against Roman rule led to mass expulsions and emigration. Roman control saw severe persecution of Jewish and Christian populations, but this changed when the Byzantine Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion in the 4th century. Christianity then dominated until the 7th century, when the Rashidun Caliphate (the first to succeed Muhammad) took control of the Levant. Control of region split between Christians and Muslims intermittently between the 11th and 13th centuries during the Crusades, although the population remained overwhelmingly Muslim. Zionism until today Through the Paris Peace Conference, the British took control of Palestine in 1920. The Jewish population began growing through the Zionist Movement after the 1880s, which sought to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. Rising anti-Semitism in Europe accelerated this in the interwar period, and in the aftermath of the Holocaust, many European Jews chose to leave the continent. The United Nations tried facilitating the foundation of separate Jewish and Arab states, yet neither side was willing to concede territory, leading to a civil war and a joint invasion from seven Arab states. Yet the Jews maintained control of their territory and took large parts of the proposed Arab territory, forming the Jewish-majority state of Israel in 1948, and acheiving a ceasefire the following year. Over 750,000 Palestinians were displaced as a result of this conflict, while most Jews from the Arab eventually fled to Israel. Since this time, Israel has become one of the richest and advanced countries in the world, however, Palestine has been under Israeli military occupation since the 1960s and there are large disparities in living standards between the two regions.

Israel's total fertility rate has remained relatively stable over the past decade, with a slight decrease to **** births per woman in 2023. This high fertility rate, coupled with an increasing life expectancy, contributes to Israel's unique demographic situation among developed nations. The country's population growth is expected to continue, driven by these factors and a birth rate that outpaces the death rate. Diverse population and immigration impact Israel's demographic landscape is shaped by its diverse population and history of immigration. As of the end of 2024, the number of permanent residents in the country reached some *** million. Of them, some ** percent were Jews and ** percent Arabs. In the decade following the fall of the Soviet Union, about *********** Jewish immigrants arrived in the country. This wave of immigration has contributed to the country's cultural diversity and economic high-tech boom. Economic growth and declining unemployment As Israel's population continues to expand, its economy is also projected to grow. Gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to increase by over a quarter between 2024 and 2029. Simultaneously, the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in recent years, hitting **** percent in 2023. This combination of population growth, economic expansion, and low unemployment suggests a robust economic outlook.

The largest age group among Druze men in Israel was the 20-24 age group, with 6,854 individuals in 2022. Among women, it was 25 to 29-year-olds with 6,385 individuals. As the population aged, the gender balance of the community shifted towards females.

In 2022, Jewish women aged 65 and older in Israel accounted for ** percent of the total population. On the other hand, Arab women aged 65 and older accounted for only six percent of the country's populace. Women aged 65 and older belonging to other ethnic groups in the country constituted14 percent of the general population.

In 2022, Jewish men aged 65 and older in Israel accounted for ** percent of the total population. On the other hand, Arab men aged 65 and older accounted for **** percent of the country's populace. Men aged 65 and older belonging to other ethnic groups in the country constituted for **** percent of the general population.

The two towns in Israel with the largest Druze populations in 2022 were Daliyat al-Karmel and Yarka, with 17,600 and 17,500 Druze residents, respectively. Other concentration of the religious group resided in Maghar with 13,600 Druze residents, Beit Jann with 12,400. Majdal Shams, located in the Golan Heights, had 11,500 residents of whom 100 percent were Druze.

The Holocaust was the systematic extermination of Europe's Jewish population in the Second World War, during which time, up to six million Jews were murdered as part of Nazi Germany's "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". In the context of the Second World War, the term "Holocaust" is traditionally used to reference the genocide of Europe's Jews, although this coincided with the Nazi regime's genocide and ethnic cleansing of an additional eleven million people deemed "undesirable" due to their ethnicity, beliefs, disability or sexuality (among others). During the Holocaust, Poland's Jewish population suffered the largest number of fatalities, with approximately three million deaths. Additionally, at least one million Jews were murdered in the Soviet Union, while Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia also lost the majority of their respective pre-war Jewish populations. The Holocaust in Poland In the interwar period, Europe's Jewish population was concentrated in the east, with roughly one third living in Poland; this can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when thousands of Jews flocked to Eastern Europe to escape persecution. At the outbreak of the Second World War, it is estimated that there were 3.4 million Jews living in Poland, which was approximately ten percent of the total population. Following the German invasion of Poland, Nazi authorities then segregated Jews in ghettos across most large towns and cities, and expanded their network of concentration camps throughout the country. In the ghettos, civilians were deprived of food, and hundreds of thousands died due to disease and starvation; while prison labor was implemented under extreme conditions in concentration camps to fuel the German war effort. In Poland, six extermination camps were also operational between December 1941 and January 1945, which saw the mass extermination of approximately 2.7 million people over the next three years (including many non-Poles, imported from other regions of Europe). While concentration camps housed prisoners of all backgrounds, extermination camps were purpose-built for the elimination of the Jewish race, and over 90% of their victims were Jewish. The majority of the victims in these extermination camps were executed by poison gas, although disease, starvation and overworking were also common causes of death. In addition to the camps and ghettos, SS death squads (Einsatzgruppen) and local collaborators also committed widespread atrocities across Eastern Europe. While the majority of these atrocities took place in the Balkan, Baltic and Soviet regions, they were still prevalent in Poland (particularly during the liquidation of the ghettos), and the Einsatzgruppen alone are estimated to have killed up to 1.3 million Jews throughout the Holocaust. By early 1945, Soviet forces had largely expelled the German armies from Poland and liberated the concentration and extermination camps; by this time, Poland had lost roughly ninety percent of its pre-war Jewish population, and suffered approximately three million further civilian and military deaths. By 1991, Poland's Jewish population was estimated to be just 15 thousand people, while there were fewer than two thousand Jews recorded as living in Poland in 2018.

In 2023, ** percent of foreign nationals with a work permit in Israel were citizens of India. They were closely followed by foreign workers from the Philippines and Thailand, which both accounted for ** percent. Interestingly, the share of workers from China grew significantly between 2022 and 2023 to ** percent.

E-commerce adoption in Israel shows significant variation across age groups, with the 25-44 year demographic the most prolific shoppers. In 2023, 69.2 percent of this age group engaged in online shopping in the previous three months, highlighting the strong digital commerce presence among younger adults. This trend aligns with broader internet usage patterns in the country, where Israelis spend considerable time online for various activities. Demographic profile of e-commerce shoppers The data reveals a clear generational divide in e-commerce participation. Purchase frequency decreased with age, with those 75 and older showing the lowest participation at just under 20 percent. Other factors associated with higher shopping engagement were income level and religious and ethnic background. For example, among adults belonging to higher income brackets, almost two-thirds were found to have completed a recent online purchase. Internet usage and e-commerce potential The robust e-commerce engagement among younger adults correlates with overall internet usage in Israel. Israelis spend an average of seven hours and 25 minutes online daily, with mobile devices accounting for a significant portion of this time. This extensive internet usage provides an important factor in e-commerce growth, particularly as users become more comfortable with online transactions across various platforms. High internet usage in the market demonstrated the potential for targeted marketing and product discovery in the e-commerce space.