JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s population rose to 7,411,000 on the eve of its 61st birthday.
The population rose from 7,282,000 last Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Monday. Israel’s population stood at 806,000 at its founding.
Israel’s Jewish population stands at 5,593,000, or 75.5 percent of the population, and the Arab population is at 1,498,000, or 20.2 percent of the population. Foreigners who are not citizens comprise the remaining 4.3 percent.
Some 154,000 babies were born in the last year. In addition, 12,000 people immigrated to Israel in that time.
Seventy percent of the Jewish population was born in Israel, half being second-generation Israelis. In 1948, some 35 percent of Jews living in Israel were sabras.
