Israel's Population Nears 10 Million, With 46% of World's Jews Residing There

As the Jewish new year approaches, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics has released demographic data projecting the nation's population to reach approximately 10.203 million by the end of 2025, with 9.916 million being Israeli citizens, marking a 1.1% annual growth. Jewish and other populations constitute 78.3% of this total, numbering around 7.767 million, while the Arab population stands at 2.149 million (21.7%). An additional 286,700 foreign residents also live in Israel.

Globally, Israel is home to about 46% of the world's 15.9 million Jews. Immigration trends show a slowdown, with only 20,900 new immigrants arriving in 2025, a decrease from 31,100 the previous year. Since the state's establishment, over 3.51 million immigrants have arrived. Emigration also saw a decline, with 69,500 Israelis leaving for extended periods abroad, compared to 82,800 in 2024, while 18,800 returned.

The foreign worker sector experienced significant movement, with 121,900 licensed foreign workers entering and 74,600 departing. Among Jewish adults (aged 20 and over), self-identification reveals a diverse society: 39.6% are secular or non-religious, 21.8% are traditional but not strictly religious, 14.0% are religious traditionalists, 12.4% are religious, and 11.5% identify as Haredi (ultra-Orthodox).

Israel continues to lead Western nations in fertility rates, with 183,678 live births in the past year, resulting in a total fertility rate of 2.88 children per woman, more than double the OECD average of 1.41. The average household size is 3.17 people, compared to approximately 2.5 in OECD countries, across 3,029,300 private households. In 2024, 53,025 couples married and 16,499 divorced, with 14,608 requests for pregnancy terminations (6.6 per 1,000 women).