Israel’s Net Population Grows 2 Percent in 2018

As 2018 draws to a close, Israel can boast a population of 8,972,000, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday – 74.3 percent (6,668,000) of them Jewish, 20.9 percent (1,878,000) Arab, and 4.8 percent (426,000) “others.”

Some 185,000 babies were born in Israel during 2018. The large majority – 81 percent – of those babies were born to Jewish families, with about 37,000 new babies in the Arab sector. Some 45,000 people passed away in 2018, while 32,600 came to live here during the year.

Of the immigrants, about a third came from Russia, followed by Ukraine with 19.6 percent of all immigrants. Eight percent came from the United States, while a similar number came from France. Taking into account births, deaths and immigration, Israel’s population grew 2 percent in 2018, by about 174,000, the CBS said.