The number of university graduates in Israel more than doubled in the decade between 1974 and 1984, and the over 200,000 holders of university degrees now account for some eight percent of the population over the age of 20, according to a recent survey.
The Central Bureau of Statistics, which published the findings of a special review, said that in 1984 there were some 206,000 university graduates in Israel. This figure is 2.1 times that recorded for 1974. The graduates accounted for in the most recent survey include some 130,000 persons with a degree equivalent to a B.A., 64,000 persons with a degree equivalent to an M.A., and some 11,000 holders of a Ph.D.
Among university graduates, some 197,000 are Jewish and some 9,000 non-Jewish. Some 85,000 university graduates — 41 percent of the total — are women, the survey showed. Half of the Jewish university graduates in Israel in 1984 were less than 40 years old, and 44 percent were born in Israel.
The percentage of those originating from Asia and Africa, including those Israeli-born individuals whose parents were born on those continents, reached about 15 percent (slightly more – some 19 percent – among B.A. holders).
BASED ON PRELIMINARY RESULTS
The Central Bureau of Statistics said the figures were based on the preliminary results of the survey of college and university graduates, conducted by the Bureau between September 1984 and May 1985. The survey covered a representative sample of 15,000 persons selected according to the information obtained during the population and housing census of June 1983.
The percentage of university graduates among adult Jews of African and Asian origin, aged 20 and older, increased from 1.1 percent in 1974 to three percent in 1984. Among Jews of European and American origin, the increase was from 8.3 percent to 14.8 percent. The percentage of women university graduates increased from 25 percent in 1961 to 37 percent in 1974, and to 41 percent in 1984.
A STRIKING CHANGE
A striking change took place in the breakdown of university graduates according to fields of studies: the total of humanities, social sciences, business and administration increased from some 12 percent for each of these fields in 1961 to some 25 percent for each of them in 1984. The total of university graduates who received a degree in mathematics and sciences increased from eight to 13 percent.
In contrast, the total of university graduates who received a degree in law, medicine or engineering decreased significantly. Changes in these fields took place mainly between 1961 and 1974, and to a lesser extent in the following decade, the Bureau said.
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