On its 73rd Independence Day, Israel's population hits 9.3 million

(JNS) — Ahead of Israel’s 72nd Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics has published the nation’s latest population figures.

The Jewish state is home to 9,327,000 people, among them 6.894 million Jews (73.9 percent of the population), 1.966 million Arabs (21.1 percent) and 467,000 citizens of other ethnicities (5 percent).

Demographic growth projections indicate that in 2030, Israel’s population will stand at 11.1 million, and in 2040 at 13.2 million. By the time Israel marks its 100th Independence Day in 2048, its population is projected to be 15.2 million.

Since Independence Day last year, the country’s population has increased by 137,000, or 1.5 percent. A total of 167,000 babies were born, while 16,300 new immigrants arrived and 50,000 Israelis died.

The state has a young population with 28.1 percent of Israelis being between the age of 0 and 14, and only 12 percent being over 65.

CBS data shows that at the end of 2019, a total of 46 percent of Jews in the world lived in Israel and that 78 percent of the Jews in Israel were born in the country.

When the state was founded, its population stood at 806,000 with 82.1 percent of the population being Jewish and 17.9 percent Arab. Since 1948, 3.3 million immigrants have arrived, 44.7 percent who made aliyah in 1990 or later.