On eve of 2015, Israel's population hits 8.3 million
Three-fourths of the population, some 6.218 million people, were Jewish. The next largest group, 1.719 million Arabs, accounted for 20.7% of the population.
By NIV ELISJews crowd onto a British army armoured car as they celebrate in downtown Jerusalem the morning after the United Nations voted on November 29, 1947 to partition Palestine which paved the way for the creation of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948. (photo credit: REUTERS)
The country’s population has reached 8,296,000 on the eve of 2015, representing a 2 percent increase over 2014, according to a year-end report by the Central Bureau of Statistics.Of new citizens, 176,600 were newborns, while another 23,000 were new immigrants, representing around 11% of the population increase.Three-fourths of the population, some 6.218 million people, were Jewish. The next largest group, 1.719 million Arabs, accounted for 20.7% of the population.The remaining 4.3%, some 359,000 people, were non-Arab Christians and others whose religion isn’t classified in the population registry.The figures did not include an additional 190,000 foreign workers residing in Israel, nor those who entered the country illegally.
