According to data published by the Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), on the eve of the state's 66 Independence Day, 8.1 million people live in Israel, including 6.1 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs.
According to the CBS, last year, 178,000 babies were born in Israel and 24,000 Jews immigrated to the country. The data released by the CBS shows that there are around 6.135 million Jews in Israel, who comprise 75% of the population.
The Arab population numbers around 1.694 million people (20.7%) and the population of the others, non-Arab Christians, members of other religions or those that lack religious affiliation stands at 351,000 people (4.3%).
Since the last Israeli Independence Day, Israel’s population grew by about 157,000 people, representing a 2% increase. During this period of time, 178,000 babies were born in Israel and about 42,000 people died. The number of Jewish immigrants who came to Israel was 24,000.
At the end of 2012, about 75% of the population in Israel consisted of native-born Israelis, compared to only 35% in 1948. In 1948, Israel had only one city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, Tel Aviv. Today, 14 Israeli cities have more than 100,000 inhabitants: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon LeTzion, Ashdod and Petach Tikva.
