In 2023, Jerusalem was the city with the largest population of Muslim residents in Israel, reaching ******* people. This represented about ** percent of the city's total population. The town with the second-highest number of Muslims was Rahat, with ****** members of the religion. Rahat is a predominantly Bedouin city in southern Israel. Umm al-Fahm and Nazareth, both located in northern Israel, make up a sizeable portion of the Muslim community in Israel.

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, Haifa was the city with the largest population of Christians in Israel, with 22,200 residents who identify with the faith. The town with the second-highest number of Christians was Nazareth, with 19,800 members of the religion. Christians living in Jerusalem and the Northern town of Nof HaGalil also made up a sizeable portion of the community.

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.

In 2022, internal migration from Jerusalem to the orthodox city of Bet Shemesh accounted for 18.1 percent of all migration from the city that year. It was closely followed by migration to Tel Aviv-Yafo, which stood at 6.2 percent. In recent years, the city has taken on a more religious character. Many leisure and nightlife facilities in the town are closed on Saturdays for religious reasons; therefore, the municipality is becoming less appealing to non-religious people. In addition, a religious population leaves Jerusalem for other cities due to a higher cost of living. In the 2022 elections for the 25th Knesset in Israel, the ultra-religious party United Tora Judaism constituted the  most popular party  among the residents of Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem is still a leading tourist city 

While Jerusalem's popularity as a place to live is waning somewhat, the city is still a top tourist destination. Both international and domestic tourism are thriving in the city. In 2022, the  number of foreign guests in hotels in Jerusalem  reached over 673,000. This was a significant increase compared to the previous year. Tourists from abroad are interested in visiting the city due to its religious and historical importance, with sites sacred to many religions. In addition, the number of Israeli guests in hotels in Jerusalem  is also high. In the same year, 713,000 Israelis stayed in hotels in the city, a slight rise compared to 2021. Among the famous sites in the city are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, and the Dome of the Rock.