The nation’s population stood at 9,593,000 before Rosh Hashanah, according to the annual report released before the holiday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Of the total, 7,069,000 are Jewish (74% of the population), 2,026,000 are Arab (21%), and 498,000 people are neither (5%).
The population grew by 187,000 over the last year, a rise of 2%, with 177,000 babies born and 53,000 people dying (4,400 from corona). The country welcomed 60,000 immigrants.
The report predicts that the population will reach 10 million in 2024, 15 million in 2048 and 20 million in 2065.
In addition, the Jewish Agency announced that there are 15.3 million Jews worldwide, up from 15.2 million last year. The global Jewish population is still more than one million less than it was before the Holocaust.
After Israel, the largest number of Jews live in the US, with six million. The next largest Jewish populations are: France (442,000), Canada (394,000), the UK (292,000), Argentina (173,000), Russia (145,000), Australia (118,200) and Germany (118,000).
They are followed by Brazil (91,000), South Africa (51,000), Hungary (46,500), Ukraine (40,000), Mexico (40,000), The Netherlands (29,700), Belgium (28,000), Italy (27,000), Switzerland (18,800), Uruguay (16,300), Chile (15,800), Sweden (14,900), Turkey (14,300), Spain (12,900), Austria (10,300) and Panama (10,000).
These numbers include people who define themselves as Jewish and do not identify with another religion.
If you were to add to the Israeli total who is eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, the global total rises to 25.5 million, including 7.5 million in Israel, where there are nearly 500,000 Israelis who received citizenship under the Law of Return who are not registered as Jews.
This past Hebrew calendar year had the largest number of new immigrants in 20 years.
Big year for Aliyah
Of the 60,000 olim who arrived in the past Hebrew year, 26,000 came from Russia, 14,000 from Ukraine, 3,800 from the US and Canada, 2,500 from France, 1,600 from Belarus, 1,450 from Ethiopia, 1,100 from Argentina, 600 from the UK, 500 from South Africa and 400 from Brazil.
Over a quarter of the new immigrants were between the ages of 18 and 35, with 5,500 participating in special Jewish Agency programs that help them integrate into the job market and higher education.
Another 2,200 olim serving as lone soldiers in the IDF received support from the Wings program.
The updated statistics by Prof. Sergio Della Pergola of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will be published in the American Jewish Year Book 2022.
In 5782, 15,000 young Jews from 60 countries came to Israel to take part in leadership, volunteering and career programs, mostly as part of the Masa Israel Journey.
Over 3,500 community leaders and professionals from 41 countries took part in resilience and emergency preparedness training as part of The Jewish Agency's JReady global emergency network, which aims to promote resilience in global Jewish communities.
2,200 shlichim (emissaries) served in Jewish communities worldwide to strengthen Jewish identity and connections with Israel.
"Wishing a very happy New Year to the Jewish people the world over - a year of hope and a year of greater connection between us," said Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency Major General (Res.) Doron Almog. "The challenges facing us at the start of this new year are significant and important. We will work together to strengthen the strategic relationship between Israel and global Jewry and to strengthen Israeli society as a whole, for the sake of our common future. And to the tens of thousands of olim who arrived in Israel this year with the help of The Jewish Agency, I wish you all a very happy new year and a soft and successful landing. Welcome to Israel."