Israel’s population stands at 7,981,000 citizens, an increase of nearly 2%, according to an annual end of the year tally from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), released at the end of 2012.
Of those nearly 8 million residents, 75.4% (6,015,000) are Jewish, 20.6% (1,648,000) are Arab (both Muslim and Christian) and the remaining 4% (319,000) are either non-Arab Christians or those who declined to state their religious affiliation to the Interior Ministry.
The year 2012 saw 170,000 babies born in the country, and Israel welcomed some 16,800 new immigrants, leading to a population growth of 1.8%, similar to previous years. The population of Israel has increased tenfold since the establishment of the state.
According to forecasts, by the year 2030, the population of the State of Israel will be between 9.6 million and 10.6 million people, including 7.2 million Jews and 2.4 million Arabs.
About one-tenth of the country's population lives in Jerusalem, a total of 804,400 people, making Jerusalem Israel's most populous city.
Tel Aviv has a population of 404,400 people. Haifa is in third place with 270,300 people. Rishon Letzion has surpassed Ashdod and Beersheba, and is now in fourth place with 232,400 people.
