Contents
Demographics of Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(As of 2009) 7,515,400
Life expectancy at birth
(As of 2008) Men - 79.1
Women - 83.0
Density 321 persons / km2.
91% urban population
Distribution of the Jewish
population by Place of Birth:
68.8% were born in Israel
21.6% were born in Europe and America
9.6% born in Asia and Africa
Annual growth 1.8% (2005)
Religions
Jews 76%
Muslims 16%
Others (mostly those not classified
as affiliated with religion) 4%
Arab Christians 2.5%
Druze 1.5%
Education
Universities 8
Students 250,456
Literacy 95.5%
Men - 97.5%
Women - 93.5%
Health:
Hospitals 44
Doctors 25,000
Infant Mortality 4.3 to 1000 births
Jews 3.1
Arabs 7.7
The State of Israel had population of approximately 7,465,500 inhabitants as of September 2009.[1] 75.5% of them were Jewish (about 5,634,300 individuals), 20.3% were Arabs (About 1,513,200 inhabitants), while the remaining 4.2% (about 318,000 individuals) were defined as "others" (family members of Jewish immigrants whom were not registered at the Interior Ministry as Jews, non-Arab Christians, non-Arab Muslims and residents whom do not have a religious classification).
Ethnic groups
Jews
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of 2009, of Israel's 7 million people, 76% were Jews of any background.[2] Among them, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.[3]
Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from Jews who immigrated from Europe, while around the same number are descended from Jews who immigrated from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over two hundred thousand are, or are descended from, Ethiopian and Indian Jews.[4]
The ethnic division of The Jewish population of Israel (including non Halackic Russians) as of 2008 is as follows.
Ethnic Makeup of Jewish Population of Israel[citation needed] TOTAL 5,818,000 100%Mizrahi Jews,and Sephardic Jews 2,921,000 50.2%
Morocco 800,000 15.2%
Iraq 404,000 7.7%
Yemen 295,000 4.9%
Iran 236,000 4.0%
Algeria/Tunisia 224,000 3.8%
Other Asia 150,000 2.5%
Turkey 147,000 2.5%
Libya 136,000 2.3%
Egypt 112,000 1.9%
Other Asia 200,000 1.7%
India/Pakistan 76,000 1.3%
Latin America 25,000 0.04%
Other Africa (Not South Africa) 3,000 0.05%
Beta Israel 130,000 2.2%
Ethiopia 130,000 2.2%
Ashkenazi Jews 2,767,000 47.5%
Russia 1,018,000 20.9%
Poland 400,000 8.3%
Romania 351,000 7.6%
Other Europe 168,000 3.7%
North America (Including 4,000 African American Black Hebrews) 165,000 2.8%
Germany/Austria 160,000 2.7%
Latin America 82,000 1.4%
Bulgaria/Greece 97,000 1.9%
Hungary 63,000 1.3%
Czechoslovakia 60,000 1.2%
South Africa 20,000 0.4%
Arabs
Arab citizens of Israel are those Arabs who remained within Israel's borders during the 1948 Palestinian exodus following the establishment of the state of Israel, including those born within the state borders subsequent to this time, as well as those who had left during the exodus (or their descendants) who have since re-entered by means accepted as lawful residence by the Israeli state (primarily family reunifications).
this figure include 209,000 Arabs (14% of the Israeli-Arab population) in east Jerusalem, also counted in the Palestinian statistics , although 98% of East Jerusalem Palestinians has either Israeli residency or Israeli citizenship.[5]
Most Arab citizens of Israel are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam, and there is a significant Arab Christian minority from various denominations, as well as Arab Druze, among other religious communities.
As of 2008, Arab citizens of Israel comprise just over 20% of the country's total population. About 82.6% of the Arab population in Israel is Sunni Muslim (with a very small minority of Shia), another 9% is Druze, and around 9% is Christian (mostly Eastern Orthodox and Catholic denominations).
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the Bedouins who are divided into two main groups: the Bedouin in the north of Israel, who live in villages and towns for the most part, and the Bedouin in the Negev, who include half-nomadic and inhabitants of towns and Unrecognized villages. According to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel, currently, 110,000 Bedouins live in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel.[6]
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the Druze who were numbered at an estimated 117,500 at the end of 2006.[7] All of the Druze living in what was then British Mandate Palestine became Israeli citizens after the declaration of the State of Israel. Though some individuals identify themselves as "Palestinian Druze",[8] most Druze do not consider themselves to be Palestinian, and consider their Israeli identity stronger than their Arab identity; indeed, Druze serve prominently in the Israel Defense Forces, and are represented in mainstream Israeli politics and business as well, unlike Muslim Arabs who are not required to and choose not to serve in the Israeli army.
Non-Arab and Non-Jew citizens
African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem (also known as The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem or Black Hebrews) is a small spiritual group whose members believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. With a population of over 5,000, most members live in their own community in Dimona, Israel, with additional families in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon, also the Tiberias area as well as small numbers of people living in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but mainstream Judaism does not consider them to be Jewish. Status in Israel: Ben Ammi and 350 of his followers first settled in Liberia, and in 1969 began moving to Israel, entering the country on temporary visas that were periodically renewed. As their numbers grew, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel ruled that they were not Jews, and therefore not entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.[citation needed] However, members of the group continued to arrive and settled in the desert community of Dimona. For two decades, their population continued growing through natural increase and illegal immigration. The Israeli government refused to grant the group citizenship, yet also avoided deporting them. In May 1990, the group reached an agreement with the government whereby they were granted tourist status with a (B/1) Visa that entitled them to work; in 1991 they were given temporary resident status (A/5) for a period of five years, which in 1995 was extended for another three years. At the beginning of 2004, the group was granted residency status by the Israeli Interior Ministry. In sports they have represented Israel at home and in Europe in track and field and national softball events, including the Maccabiah Games. Their students have represented Israel in international academic competitions. Members of the community have represented Israel in two Eurovision song contests. In 2004, Uriahu Butler became the first member of the community to enlist in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and by 2006 more than 100 of their youth were serving in the IDF in regular units. The IDF agreed to accommodate their dietary and other religious requirements Way of Life: The group maintains a vegan diet, citing Genesis 1:29, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."[2] They practice abstinence from alcohol, other than wine that they make themselves, and both illegal and pharmaceutical drugs, so as to stay within the cycles of life. The group also owns and operates a chain of vegetarian restaurants throughout the country. Adult members exercise three times a week, and are advised to have at least one full-body massage each month for its health benefits. In 1998, doctors visited the community in Israel and found that only 6% of the members suffered from high blood pressure, compared to 30% of African Americans. Furthermore only 5% of their members were obese, compared to 32% of black men and half of black women in America. The doctors concluded, "These changes in lifestyle might prevent chronic disease in American blacks, but would be hard to achieve without the unifying power of community and spirituality."[3] In February 2005, in conjunction with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the group set up a conflict resolution center in Dimona to teach non-violence and reconciliation to families, communities, faiths and nations. A strict vegan and kosher restaurant: called "Taam Ha'Chaim (Taste of Life) exists in Tel Aviv and is run by the community.[9].
Armenians
More than 5,000 Armenians reside in Israel mostly in Jerusalem (including in the Armenian Quarter), but also in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa. Armenians have a Patriarchate in Jerusalem and churches in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Haifa and Jaffa.
Asians
There are approximately 23,000 registered Chinese foreign workers in living in Israel [10], in addition there are also some diplomats, overseas students from China studying in Israeli Universities, and some migrants. It is said that very few families who are Chinese Jewish from the city of Kaifeng live as citizens in Israel, the number of Kaifeng Jews living in Israel is said to be about 20-50 people or six families[11], all other Chinese Jews in Israel are converts mostly descendants of the "boat people" refugees from Vietnam in Israel which numbers up to 400 people of close to half now are Jewish and of Chinese Vietnamese descent. All other Jews from China are either Ashkenazi or Iraqi mainly from Harbin and Shanghai.
The Philippine Embassy estimates that there are approximately 31,000 Filipinos working and living in Israel. A large majority is concentrated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. There is also a considerable number of Filipinos working in Beersheva, Netanya, Rehovot and Rishon Lezion. However, most of them maintain apartments in Tel Aviv where they normally spend their weekends. Most of the Filipinos in Israel work as caregivers. There is also a small fraction working in hotels and restaurants. Women outnumber men with a ratio of 6 to 1. True to their gregarious nature, Filipinos in Tel Aviv have taken flats near each other and have congregated in distinct areas like the Carmel Market and the new central bus station (Tachana Merkazit). On any given Saturday evening, when most are on their day off, the Tachana Merkazit gives the impression that one is in Divisoria or Cubao with the thousands of Filipinos letting their hair down after a week’s work. Under 20,000 Filipinos have migrated to Israel as citizens but form a sizeable community. Religion, which has always been a facet of expatriate Filipino workers, is very pronounced with their awareness of being in the Holy Land. Filipino worshippers usually flock at St. Anthony Catholic Church along Yefet St. in Jaffa for the Saturday masses at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Weddings are usually scheduled during the 5:30 p.m. mass. The church which is run by the Franciscan friars can accommodate about 1,500 people at any one time. In Haifa, Filipinos frequent the St. Joseph Church, in Jerusalem, the Notre Dame Church, the Church of the Terra Sancta and the Holy Rosary Church. Sunday is normally market day for the Filipinos. In Tel Aviv, the Carmel market is very popular since, several stores sell pork, Philippine vegetables, Filipino delicacies and other Asian products. In Tachana Merchazit, there are many stores catering to Filipinos, selling Philippine products and delicacies, including VCDs of Philippine movies. There are also shops for airline booking.There are also video bars, restaurants, pubs and discothèques in Tel Aviv which cater to Filipino clients. In Jerusalem, the Filipino store enjoys popular patronage. In Haifa, two stores offer more than Philippine products, they have billiards pool, karaoke and Filipino refreshments.[12]. Thai, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Chinese are on the list of popular spoken languages in Israel.