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New Statistical Abstract
Pursues Israel Trivially
HUGH ORGEL
T
el Aviv — What is the
Christian population
of Israel? How has per
capita consumption fared in
the Gaza District? How long
can the average Israeli
woman expect to live? These
answers and myriad more are
the stuff of the just-published
38th "Statistical Abstract of
Israel."
For instance, the abstract
reports that Israel's popula-
tion at the beginning of
November was an estimated
4.38 million people, of whom
3.6 million were Jewish (82.0
percent), 604,000 Moslem
(13.8 percent), 101,000 Chris-
tians (2.3 percent) and 74,000
Druze (1.7 percent).
In 1986, Israel's population
grew by 1.5 percent, down
from an annual average of 1.9
percent in the three previous
years, and 2.4 percent in the
last decade. The decrease in
population growth resulted
primarily from a decline in
immigration and an increase
in the number of residents
staying abroad for extended
periods.
In 1986, the Jewish popula-
tion grew by 1.3 percent, the
Moslem population by 3.0
percent, the Christian
population by 1.5 percent,
and the Druze population by
2.8 percent.
If the existing trends con-
tinue, there will be 5.2-5.55
million residents in Israel by
the year 2000, and 5.7-6.5
million in 2010.
Jews will constitute some
78 percent of the population
in the year 2000, and some 76
percent in 2010.
The proportion of those
under the age of 16 in the
Jewish population is expected
to decrease and the propor-
tion of Jews 65 and older is
expected to remain stable,
while that of those aged 45-65
is expected to rise.
Almost 100,000 babies were
born in Israel in 1986, in-
cluding some 75,000 Jews.
The number of births in 1986
was slightly lower than that
recorded in 1985, a peak year
for Israeli births.
Last year, the average
Israeli woman could be ex-
pected to have slightly more
than three children in her
lifetime, similar to the figures
for 1984 and 1985.
The Jewish population's fer-
tility rate in 1986, an average
of about 2.85 children per
woman, remained the same
as in previous years. This
despite the continuing
decline in the rate of mar-
riages and no change in the
number of births out of
wedlock (some 1 percent of all
births).
Last year, for the first time,
the fertility rate — which
calculates live births per
1,000 women — of women ag-
ed 20-24 was lower than that
of women aged 30-34. This is
a result of the trend toward
marrying later in life, which
has been marked in the last
decade.
The average number of
births per Moslem woman,
which continued to decline in
1986 as well, reached 4.6, as
compared to 9.0 about 15
years ago.
The fertility rate for
Moslem women also con-
tinued to decline, reaching 4.2
in 1986. The fertility rate of
Christian women, however,
rose to 2.5, compared to 2.1 in
1985.
In 1986, 30,100 couples
married in Israel, which is
some 1,000 more than in 1985
and included 23,700 Jewish
couples. The annual number
of marriages of Jewish
couples has been decreasing
since 1976 — in 1974-1975,
marriages peaked at 28,600
couples — and since 1981, the
number has fluctuated be-
tween 23,000-24,000 couples
annually.
The average life expectancy
in 1985 for Israeli men was
73.5 years, and for Israeli
women, 77.2. In the last
decade there has been a
significant decrease in the
rate of death from heart
disease, and the death rate
from cancer has stabilized.
The two account for 60 per-
cent of the deaths in Israel.
Immigration and emigra-
tion both declined. Some
9,500 immigrants arrived
during 1986, as compared to
10,600 in 1985, and about
2,600 persons were registered
as residents with a different
status. However, some 14,300
residents were added to those
already living abroad for a
year or more, as compared to
15,300 in 1985.
In 1986, 57.4 percent of
Israelis lived in Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem and Haifa areas.
The population of the Tel Aviv
metropolitan stands at 1.6
million, or 37.5 percent of
that of Israel. Of these,
320,000 live in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Jerusalem has nearly
470,000 residents, or 10.8 per-
cent of the country's popula-
tion. There are another
390,000 residents in the
Haifa metropolitan area.
Copyright 1987, JTA, Inc.
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