|
Trending Topics
|
Jerusalem's Changing Demographics: An Overview
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Nadav Shragai - The Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook, published by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, provides the latest picture of Jerusalem's demographic mosaic. At the end of 2018, 919,400 people lived in Jerusalem, twice the population of Tel Aviv, and 10% of Israel's total population. They included 555,800 Jews (62%) and 349,600 Arabs (38% - of whom 96% were Muslims and 4% Christians). The birthrate among the Jewish population in Jerusalem - 29.2 (births per thousand residents) was higher than that of the Arab population - 24.9. For many years (1967-2011), the birthrate of the Arab population in Jerusalem was higher, but beginning in 2012 the trend was reversed. The decline in the birthrate among the Arab population is associated with an increase in the level of education and increased participation of women in the labor force. The overall fertility rate of Jewish women in Jerusalem was 4.4 children, compared with 3.1 children among Arab women.