POPULATION

POPULATION


NATIONAL POPULATION
ESTIMATES


Estimates of the population and its demographic characteristics - both national and
by geographic divisions - are based on the results of the population censuses and
on the changes which occurred in the population after the censuses, as recorded in
the Population Register. Since the end of 1995 and onwards estimates both of
population and it's geographic distribution are based on the 1995 Census.
DEFINITIONS
De jure population includes permanent residents Israeli citizens and permanent
residents without Israeli citizenship (including those who had been out of the country
less than one year at the time of the estimate) as well as potential immigrants
staying in Israel or in Jewish localities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Area. Also
included is an estimate of tourists and temporary residents residing in Israel for
more than one year, based on the enumeration of this group at the time of the 1995
population census, without subsequent updating.
The components of change in the de jure population are as follows: natural
increase (births less deaths) and the migration balance. The positive elements of the
migration balance are: immigrants and potential immigrants, tourists who changed
their status to immigrants or potential immigrants, persons entering the country for
the purpose of family reunification, returning potential immigrants, permanent
residents returning to Israel after staying abroad for over 12 months and
immigrating citizens. Residents staying abroad more than 12 months and potential
immigrants staying abroad were subtracted from the above mentioned population. In
the distribution of the population by religion, there is another component - net
changes and corrections of religion. Up to 1995, this component was included in the
migration balance (Tables 2.2, 2.5 and 2.6). As of 1996, it is included only in the
total growth.
As of 1994, data on persons staying abroad for more than 12 months, and on
persons who returned after an extended stay, have been based on estimates only.
As of 1995, potential immigrants have not been included in these movements, due to
their small number.
The components of change of the population estimates by geographical divisions
include (besides the above mentioned components) also internal migrants by their
characteristics.
De facto population includes the permanent (de jure) population and potential
immigrants, temporary residents and tourists staying in Israel or in Jewish localities
in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Area on the date of the estimate. Not included are
permanent residents and potential immigrants absent from the country on the date of
the estimate. Tables in this chapter refer to the permanent population, beginning with
the data of 1961.
Population groups and religion: Up to the 1995 Census, tables include, as a
rule, the population broken down by Jews, Moslems, Christians and Druze. Included
with the Druze are members of other religions (such as: Buddhists, Hindus,
Samaritans, etc.), who constitute only a few hundred in the population.
When this breakdown is impossible due to unavailability of data or to scarcity of
cases in the total population, data are broken down by population groups only -
"Jews" and "Other religions" or "thereof: Moslems".
Since the 1995 Census, the tables present, separately, persons whose religion is
unclassified by the Ministry of Interior. These are usually family members of
Jewish immigrants. This group also includes members of religions not specified
separately (Buddhists, Hindus, Samaritans, etc.) who previously had been included
with the Druze. In the 1995 Census this group numbered 400 persons.
Age is defined as the number of completed years at the estimation date.
Country of birth is defined by borders at the time of the estimate, with the
exception of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Data on those countries
relate to the political situation before their dissolution.
Country of origin for persons born abroad the country of birth; for persons
born in Israel father's country of birth.
EXPLANATIONS, SOURCES AND METHODS OF COMPUTATION
Basis for population estimates: The estimates until the Census of May 22, 1961
are based on the Registration of the Population conducted on November 8, 1948
and relate to the de facto population. From the 1961 Census on, the estimates
relate to the de jure population. From 1972 through 1982, estimates are based on
the Census of Population and Housing conducted in May 20, 1972. From 1983
through 1994 (incl. average population in 1995), estimates are based on the results
of the census held on June 4, 1983. As of 1995, the data on population are based
on the Census of November 4, 1995, unless otherwise stated.
As of 1967, the population includes the residents of East Jerusalem (who numbered
70,900 at the end of 1967) and as of 1969, potential immigrants. In 1982, the
Druze and Moslem population of the Golan (about 12,000 persons at the end of
1982) was added.
REVISIONS MADE FOLLOWING THE CENSUSES
Regarding the Jewish population, the results of the 1961 Census were very close to
the current estimates, and therefore, served as the basis for the estimates. The
1972 results were adjusted to the current estimates, because of deficiencies in the
number of children in the census. The results of the 1983 census were 42,520
persons lower than the current estimates. After evaluating the results, the census
figure was increased by 21,000 persons, as a basis for the estimates. In the 1995
Census the results for the Jewish population were lower by 70,000 persons than
the current estimates.
After adjusting the current estimates by religious affiliation (by 20,000 persons)
and after the results were evaluated, the census results were increased as a basis
for current estimates by 43,000 persons. Thus, there is a discontinuity between the
estimates for the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983, and between the
estimates for the end of 1994 and the estimate for the end of 1995 (which is
based on the 1995 Census).
Regarding the population belonging to "Other religions", results of the 1961 Census
exceeded current estimates by about 4,000 persons (especially Moslems), and the
1972 Census results were lower by 5,000 (especially Christians). In the 1983
Census, the results for the Moslem population were lower than the current estimate
by about 10,000 persons. After evaluating the results, the 1983 Census' results
were increased by 5,000 persons, as a basis for the estimates. In the 1995
Census the results for the Moslem population were similar to the current estimate.
Over-enumeration in East Jerusalem was offset by under-enumeration of the Bedouin
population. The results of the 1995 Census as a basis for estimates were lowered
by 1,400 persons. The results for the Druze population in the 1995 Census were
lower by 1,800 persons than the current estimate, but were accepted as a basis for
the estimates. The results for Christians (who up until the 1995 Census also
included persons whose religion was unclassified), were higher by 17,700 persons,
mainly due to errors in the attribution of religion in the current population estimates
(to the extent of 20,000 persons).
After the census' results were evaluated, they were increased by 4,100 persons as
a basis for estimates. As of the end of 1995, persons not classified by religion
are presented separately from the Christians.
Revisions to the 1983 Census resulted in an addition of 26,000 persons to the
total population, and revisions to the 1995 Census added 45,800 persons as a
basis for current population estimates.
Consequently, there are discontinuities between estimates for the end of 1960 and
the beginning of 1961, the end of 1971 and the beginning of 1972, the end of
1982 and the beginning of 1983, and the end of 1994 and end of 1995.
Census figures in this chapter are after adjustment. The data for 1995 refer to
the end of the year and not to the date of the census which was conducted in
4.11.1995.
Estimates by age, combined with other characteristics, are calculated once a year.
The estimate of age composition, for the end of a given year, is based on the
estimate by age for the end of the preceding year, after "aging" all age groups by
one year. Births, and immigrants by age, are added to this base, while deaths and
the migration balance are subtracted. By adding the balance of additions and
subtractions to the base, the estimate of age groups for the end of the year is
obtained.
Average population until 1983 and from 1990 to 1993 was computed as the mean
of the 12 monthly averages. From 1983 to 1989, when immigration was relatively at
a low ebb, and from 1994 onwards, years in which immigrants arrived more or less
evenly throughout the year, the average population was calculated as half the sum
of the population at the end and at the beginning of the surveyed year.
Immigrants from the former USSR who immigrated since 1990 - the basis for the
population estimate is the Population and Housing Census of 4.11.1995. This
estimate refers to all the immigrants from the USSR, without differentiation by
religion. The estimate also includes children who were born in Israel to mothers
belonging to this population. Therefore, the components of change for this
population are: natural increase (births less deaths) and the migration balance.
Due to revisions made in the census, especially in the estimates by year of
immigration (see above), there is a discontinuity between the estimates up to 1994
and the estimates after the census.
Population projections - the projections are based on the population at the end of
1995, and the development expected from this year until the end of 2020.
Presented here are projections based on 3 different assumptions regarding the
levels of fertility and the migration balance. The assumption is that the number of
immigrants for the total projected period is between 745,000 to 975,000, of which
535,000 and 600,000, respectively, are immigrants from the former USSR.
GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION OF THE
POPULATION
DEFINITIONS
Locality is a permanently inhabited place that meets the following criteria:
a.
It is usually inhabited by 40 or more adult residents (until the 1961
Census 10 residents and until 1997 - 20 permanent residents or
more);
b.
it has self-administration;
c.
it is not officially included in another locality.
d.
its establishment was approved by the planning institutions.
Localities are classified as "Jewish" or "Non-Jewish" according to the majority
population in the locality. In most localities, there is a large majority either of "Jews"
or of "Other religions".
There are eight urban localities, defined as "mixed", with a large majority of Jews,
but with a considerable minority of persons of other religions: Jerusalem, Tel
Aviv-Yafo, Haifa, Akko, Ramla, Lod, Ma'alot-Tarshiha, Nazerat Illit (since 1983) and
the rural locality Neve Shalom (since 1985). These localities were included among
both "Jewish" and "Non-Jewish" localities, but in the total localities they were counted
only once.
Israeli localities in the Judea, Samaria and Gaza Areas, are included in the list
of localities their population included detailed by type of locality, municipal status
and size of locality.
District and sub-district were defined according to the official administrative
division of the state. In 1982, the Golan Sub-district was added and included in the
Northern District.
Natural region: Within the frame of the official division into 15 sub-districts, a
more detailed sub-division was made into natural regions. Each natural region is part
of one sub-district or, in some cases, identical to a whole sub-district or district.
Natural regions are continuous areas, as homogeneous as possible in their physical
structure, climate and soil, as well as in the demographic, economic and cultural
characteristics of their population. Before the 1995 Census, the natural region
system was updated and the number of regions rose from 45 to 50.
TYPE OF LOCALITY
Tables in this Abstract are presented according to the definitions determined for
the 1983 Census, and updated for the 1995 Census.
Urban localities include all localities with 2,000 or more inhabitants and are
classified by size.
Rural localities include all localities with a population of up to 2,000 (even if not
agricultural).
Rural localities are sub-divided as follows:
moshav is a rural locality, organized as a cooperative society which has the
right to agricultural farm land, as defined by the Israel Land Administration.
These localities consist of family units, each of which is an independent
economic entity. Part of the production, and the economic administration is
carried out by the cooperative society, the degree of cooperation being
determined by the members;
collective moshav is a rural collective locality, where production and
marketing are collective and consumption is private;
qibbuz is a rural collective locality where both production, marketing and
consumption are collective;
institutional locality: institutions which have the characteristics of a locality
and are not within the municipal boundaries of another locality;
communal locality: A locality organized as a cooperative society, which has
no right to farm land, and where the extent of the cooperative activities
(whether in production, consumption, municipal and social activities) is
determined by its members.
Other rural locality: A locality numbering less than 2,000 residents which
is not included in any of the other categories described above.
Living outside localities: Residents living outside the boundaries of any locality, in
locations that do not have the characteristics of a locality (as defined above).
Bedouin tribes refers to the Bedouin population living outside localities, mainly in
the Negev and in northern Israel (since the 1983 census, this population has been
included among those "living outside localities"). Reports of changes in personal data
such as marriages, divorces, etc., among the Bedouin in the South are incomplete. In
addition, the Bedouin often indicate the name of their tribe instead of the locality in
which they live when asked to give their address. Since the Bedouin tribes are
considered as "living outside localities", these reports may cause people to be
registered as having moved from localities to outside areas. In addition this leads to
excessive registration of births among those living outside localities, and to
unreasonable birth rates and age composition. As a result it is difficult to estimate
the proportion of the Bedouin population outside localities, and the characteristics
of the Beduin population both within and outside localities.
CURRENT AND PERMANENT LOCALITY TYPE
There are localities for which the definition of type of locality may change, e.g.,
from rural to urban or from one type of urban locality to another. In order to
enable comparison of demographic data from different years, a permanent locality
type was determined. The permanent locality type was fixed after each census and
updated once midway between the censuses. Before the 1995 Census, 1988 was the
last year to which the permanent locality type referred.
As of 1995, the permanent locality type refers to that of the 1995 Census and
appears in tables 2.6, 2.11 and 2.16, in the rest of the tables, the locality type is
the current one.
METROPOLITAN AREA
A large cluster of local authorities whose territories are contiguous, and
are integrated socio-economically and culturally.
Metropolitan area is a new term replacing the former term "conurbation".
Unlike a conurbation, a metropolitan area also includes the territories of
regional councils and rural localities that are economically and functionally
integrated with the metropolitan localities.
The Tel Aviv metropolitan area includes all the localities of the Tel Aviv
district, the Central district, and the Ashdod natural region.
The metropolitan areas were divided up according to their internal
structure:
Core: the territory of the primary city serving as the focus of the
population of the metropolitan area.
Inner Ring: the area containing the localities surrounding the core.
Middle Ring: the area containing the localities surrounding the Inner Ring
(in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area only).
Outer Ring: area containing the localities surrounding the Middle Ring.
Sections (Northern, Eastern, Southern): sub-divisions of the rings in the
Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Two metropolitan areas were defined in Israel: the Tel Aviv and the Haifa
metropolitan areas. The areas were defined for the 1995 Census.
MUNICIPAL STATUS OF LOCALITIES:
Three types of local authorities are distinguished:
Municipality refers to one locality only.
Local council refers to one locality only.
Regional council refers, generally, to a number of rural localities.
Regional councils include localities which have a representative on the council as
well as localities that are within the municipal jurisdiction of the council, but are not
represented in it. The latter, however are included in the number of localities in the
council, and their population is included in the population of that council.
INTERNAL MIGRATION
The data on internal migration between localities are based on analysis of the file
of changes recorded in the Population Register of the Ministry of the Interior,
refering to residents' notification of change of address. Data do not include first
place of settlement of new immigrants, but include their changes of address.
As of the end of 1981, change of address has also been based on passport
application forms, identity card applications and birth notifications; the use of birth
notification was discontinued in mid-1990. Consequently, there has been a
considerable increase in the number of changes registered since 1982, and one
should be cautious in comparing data with previous years.
The data on internal migration in tables 2.16 and 2.17, are registration data. The
data include all those who reported a change of address to the Ministry of the
Interior in 1997, even if the change itself took place before.
HOUSEHOLDS
DEFINITIONS
A household is defined as a group of persons living in one dwelling on a
permanent basis most of the week and having a common expense budget for food. A
household may include one person or more, or persons who are not relatives.
Size of household is determined by the number of persons in the household,
according to the above definition.
Type of Household is determined by the relationship to the household
representative as reported by the interviewee in the field.
The different types of households were determined for all households, with the
exception of households in qibbuzim, institutions, student dormitories and of Bedouins
in Southern Israel living outside permanent localities.
Type of Household includes family households and non-family households.
A Non-Family Household includes one person only or a group of persons without
a family relationship.
Family Household - is a household that contains at least one "family".
A "family household" can include: one family, one family with other persons, or two
families or more.
Family - is defined as two persons or more who share the same household and are
related to one another as husband and wife, as an unmarried couple, or as parent
and child. Thus, a family can be only a couple, a couple with children (in various
age groups, defined by the age of the youngest child) or a lone parent with
children.
A "family" also includes a family of grandparents with grandchildren without parents,
or only brothers who live together without spouses or children.
Other Persons - are people, without a family of their own, who belong to a
household together with a "family".
The Population of Couples in Households - (Table 2.34) includes all the
married and the unmarried couples who are the heads of the household and the
additional married couples which are not the heads of the household. This table,
unlike other tables on households and families, also includes the couples in the
qibbuzim.
Continent of origin. For those born abroad, the continent of birth was recorded;
for those born in Israel - the father's continent of birth was recorded.
Development localities as defined by the Development Towns Advisory Bureau
which is jointly administered by the Ministries of Labour and Welfare, Industry and
Trade and Construction and Housing as it was in 1995.
The type of locality by which data are classified is the permanent type of locality
(see definitions in "Geographical Distribution of the Population" in this introduction).
From 1990 until 1997, the type of locality referred to the distribution used in
1988. As of 1998, the type of locality is the one determined in 1995. This should
be taken into account when comparing data by type of locality with data of previous
years.
SOURCES
The households and families estimates are obtained from the data of the current
sample of the Labour Force Survey.
Survey description - the structure of the survey, the investigation method and the
questionnaire, sampling frames, sampling method, size of sample, and method of
estimation - are all presented in the Introduction to Special Publication No. 1100 -
Labour Force Surveys 1997.
In order to obtain estimates which relate to all the population covered in the survey
(as defined above), an "inflation coefficient" was determined for each unit
participating in the sample. This coefficient reflects the number of units in the
survey population represented by each unit in the sample.
For the estimates appearing here, an "inflation coefficient" was determined for each
"household" participating in the sample, identical for all "families", "couples", and
"persons" in the same household. The "inflation coefficient" system is determined
through an iterative process, so that after the "inflation" there is a correlation
between the distribution of persons in the sample households by primary variables
and the corresponding distribution of persons by current demographic estimates. As
of 1998, the basis of demographic estimates is the 1995 census and the correlated
primary variables are: 10 age groups, which include both sexes, in 39 locality
groups (The 3 large cities separately, and other urban and rural localities inside
geographical regions, separately for immigrants of the 1990's and onwards and for
the rest of the population. Qibbuzim and moshavim include also immigrants).
It should be noted that for estimates appearing in table 2.37, which are also
obtained from Labour Force Surveys, the "inflation coefficient" system is
determined for "persons" aged 15 and more only. Therefore, estimates obtained for
"households" by using this method may differ from those presented in the other
tables.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
1023
 Demographic Characteristics of the Population in Israel, 1994
1026
Population in Localities, 1994, Demographic Characteristics, by
Geographical Divisions
1038
 Internal Migration in Israel, 1993
1062
 The Families in Israel, 1995
1076
 Immigrant Population from USSR (former), 1995 - Demographic
Trends
1079
 Households in Israel, 1996
1109
 Internal Migration in Israel of Immigrants of the 1990's, 1997
CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING 1995
1
 Population and Household - Provisional Results
3
 List of Localities - Geographical Characteristic and Population -
1948-1995
7
 Demographic Characteristics of the Population in Localities and
Statistical Areas
8A
 Socio-Economic Characteristics of Population and Households in
Localities with 2,000 Inhabitants and More - Selected Findings
(Hebrew only)
10A
 Level of Education of the Population in Israel - Selected Findings
(Hebrew only)
TECHNICAL SERIES
70
List of Localities, Their Population and Codes 31 XII 1998
CURRENT BRIEFINGS IN STATISTICS
11, 1998
 Population in Localities with 2,000 and More Inhabitants -
Selected Demographic Data from the 1995 Census of Population
and Housing.
20, 1998
 Internal Migration in Israel, 1996.
5, 1999
 Immigrant Population from the Former USSR, Selected Data,
1997



Copyright © 1997-1999 The State of Israel. All rights reserved. See
"Terms of Use" for the conditions under which this service may be used.