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POPULATION OF ISRAEL: GENERAL TRENDS AND INDICATORS
Population Trends: 1948-1993
In early 1994, Israel had a population of approximately 5.3 million: 81.5%
Jewish, 14.1% Muslim, 2.7% Christian, and 1.7% Druse and other (Table 1).
The main factor in population growth is Jewish immigration from all over
the world (Figures 1 and 2). In 1948-51, 687,000 immigrants reached
Israel's shores. Most were survivors of Nazi extermination camps in Europe
and members of entire communities that immigrated from the Arab countries
in Asia and North Africa.
This mass immigration doubled Israel's population within less than four
years. Smaller but no less important immigration waves arrived in 1955-57,
1961-64, and 1969-74. The population growth increment in these years was
in the range of 30-45 per thousand, of which 35-50% was due to the
migration balance. The influx of immigrants was much slower at other times
and in 1974 settled to a nadir that lasted until the great awakening of
1990-93, when hundreds of thousands of Jews came from the former Soviet
Union. This immigration, coupled with stability in natural increase,
caused the population growth rate to increase from 17 per thousand in the
1980s, of which immigration contributed only 6%, to 40 per thousand on
annual average in 1990-93, two-thirds of it due to the positive migration
balance. Emigration from Israel, caused in part by the unsuccessful
acculturation of recent immigrants, had a slight but significant impact on
the migration balance, offsetting 20% of immigration in 1948-82 and 30% in
1983-92. The rate of natural increase declined, amid fluctuations, from
21.6 per thousand in the late 1950s to 15-17 per thousand in the past
decade. The causes of this decrease are changes in the fertility, life
expectancy, and age structure of various population groups.
The total fertility rate, i.e., the average number of children a woman may
expect to bear in her lifetime, varied between different population groups
in the 1950s and the 1960s. While relatively affluent families controlled
their fertility level, poor families raised large numbers of children
under adverse circumstances. In the 1960s, the total fertility rate was
more than 9 among Muslims and only 3.4 among Jews. These disparities
narrowed in the 1970s and 1980s. Total fertility decreased not only among
Jews of Asian/African origin but also among Christians, Muslims, and
Druse, and levelled off somewhat among Jews of European/American origin.
Total fertility rates in 1993 were 2.61 among Jews, 4.68 among Muslims,
2.03 among Christians, and 3.76 among Druse and others (Figure 3).
Mortality rates by age cohorts have decreased over the years in all
segments of the population. Figure 4 shows the decrease in infant
mortality in the past forty years. The life-expectancy tables for 1992
point to life expectancy of 75 years for men and 78.5 for women. The
differences in life expectancy among the various population groups - Jews,
Muslims, Christians, Druse - have almost disappeared. However, substantial
differences in mortality rates have come to light (Table 2), as those of
Muslims and Druse have fallen to very low levels because of the lower
share of elderly persons in these population groups (Table 3). The
differences in birth and mortality rates among the various population
groups also manifest themselves in disparities in rates of natural
increase (Table 2).
Changes in Population Structure
Age Distribution
The age distribution of the Israeli population (Table 3) is a composite of
trends in diverse population groups, each of which exhibits different
patterns of development. Israel is still one of "youngest" developed
countries. At the beginning of 1993, the 0-15 cohort accounted for 30% of
its population, as against 32% in the 1970s. The share of the 65+ group
rose from 4.7% in 1955 to 8.8% in 1983 (according to the 1983 Population
Census) and 9.4% in 1992.
The age distribution of Jews of European origin has been affected by their
relatively low fertility, whereas that of Jews of Asian/African origin has
been influenced over time by a decrease in their once-high total fertility
rate. The current age distribution of Jews is strongly influenced by that
of the immigrants of the 1950s and the 1960s. Some 14% of the recent
immigrants from the former Soviet Union are elderly, and they have
augmented the 65+ age group by nearly 50,000 (more than 10%). Until the
1970s, Muslims and Druse were strongly represented in the young age
cohorts because of the high fertility levels of these population groups
and the decrease in their infant-mortality rates.
Population Structure by Religious Affiliation
Jews have accounted for a decisive majority of the population ever since
the establishment of the state. The immigration wave of 1948-1951 boosted
the share of Jews in the population to 89%. This proportion has been
decreasing since the 1950s, with a nadir of 81.5% in 1989. The mass
immigration that resumed in 1990 elevated the share of Jews in the
population to 81.9% only. The share of Muslims rose from 7.5% in 1951 to
14.1% in 1993, because of high natural increase and the annexation of
eastern Jerusalem. The proportion of Christians has remained stable over
the years, in the vicinity of 2.3%; immigration from the former Soviet
Union caused it to rise to 2.7% in 1992. The share of Druse rose from 1%
in 1948 to 1.7% in 1993.
Labor-Force Participation
Participation in the civilian labor force (age 15+) increased from 49.6%
in 1982 to 52.9% in 1993, mainly because of the rising share of working
women. The proportion of labor-force participants among women was 36% in
1982 and 43.4% in 1993; the share of men in the labor force dropped from
63.4% to 62.8% during these years. The general increase in women's
participation was evident in all age groups, especially the 25-54 cohort.
The decrease among the men occurred principally among those aged 35 and
over. Over the past decade, the total labor force grew from 1.36 million
to 1.8 million, 3.1% per year on average as against 2.6% annual average
growth of the working-age population. The present wave of immigration has
also helped bolster the labor force by contributing 155,000 immigrant
members by 1992, of whom 110,000 (70%) were employed, most not in their
occupations.
Figure 1: Population of Israel, 1949-1993
(millions)
Year Population
1949 ############ 1174
1950 ############## 1370
1951 ################ 1578
1952 ################# 1630
1953 ################# 1669
1954 ################## 1718
1955 ################## 1789
1956 ################### 1872
1957 #################### 1976
1958 ##################### 2032
1959 ##################### 2089
1960 ###################### 2150
1961 ####################### 2234
1962 ######################## 2332
1963 ######################### 2430
1964 ########################## 2526
1965 ########################## 2598
1966 ########################### 2657
1967 ############################ 2776
1968 ############################# 2841
1969 ############################## 2930
1970 ############################### 3022
1971 ################################ 3121
1972 ################################# 3225
1973 ################################## 3338
1974 ################################### 3422
1975 ################################### 3493
1976 #################################### 3575
1977 ##################################### 3653
1978 ###################################### 3738
1979 ####################################### 3836
1980 ######################################## 3922
1981 ######################################## 3978
1982 ######################################### 4064
1983 ########################################## 4119
1984 ########################################## 4200
1985 ########################################### 4266
1986 ############################################ 4331
1987 ############################################# 4407
1988 ############################################# 4477
1989 ############################################## 4560
1990 ################################################# 4822
1991 ################################################### 5059
1992 #################################################### 5196
1993 ###################################################### 5328
Figure 2: Immigration to Israel: 1948-1993
Year Immigrants
1948 ########### 101,828
1949 ######################## 239,954
1950 ################## 170,563
1951 ################## 175,279
1952 ### 24,610
1953 ## 11,575
1954 ## 18,491
1955 #### 37,528
1956 ###### 56,330
1957 ######## 72,634
1958 ### 27,290
1959 ### 23,988
1960 ### 24,692
1961 ##### 47,735
1962 ####### 61,533
1963 ####### 64,489
1964 ###### 55,036
1965 #### 31,115
1966 ## 15,957
1967 ## 14,469
1968 ### 20,703
1969 #### 38,111
1970 #### 36,750
1971 ##### 41,930
1972 ###### 55,888
1973 ###### 54,886
1974 #### 31,981
1975 ### 20,028
1976 ## 19,754
1977 ### 21,429
1978 ### 26,394
1979 #### 37,222
1980 ### 20,428
1981 ## 12,599
1982 ## 13,723
1983 ## 16,906
1984 ## 19,981
1985 ## 10,642
1986 # 9,505
1987 ## 12,965
1988 ## 13,034
1989 ### 24,050
1990 #################### 199,516
1991 ################## 176,100
1992 ######## 77,057
1993 ######## 76,805
Figure 3: Fertility Rate by Population Group, 1955-1993
Year Total Jews Muslims Christians Druse and others
1955-59 3.93 3.56 8.17 4.56 7.21
1960-64 3.85 3.39 9.23 4.68 7.49
1965-69 3.83 3.36 9.22 4.26 7.30
1970-74 3.80 3.28 8.47 3.65 7.25
1975-79 3.47 3.00 7.25 3.12 6.93
1980-84 3.13 2.80 5.54 2.41 5.40
1985-89 3.07 2.79 4.70 2.49 4.19
1990 3.02 2.69 4.70 2.57 4.05
1991 2.91 2.58 4.70 2.26 3.70
1992 2.93 2.62 4.65 2.09 3.84
1993 2.92 2.61 4.68 2.03 3.76
Figure 4: Infant Mortality, 1955-1993
(Infant Deaths per 1,000 Births)
Year Total Jews Muslims Christians Druse and others
1955-59 36.5 32.1 60.6 46.1 54.3
1960-64 29.1 25.3 46.4 42.1 50.4
1965-69 25.5 20.8 43.8 32.7 43.8
1970-74 23.5 18.7 40.1 29.6 33.9
1975-79 18.9 15.0 32.6 20.9 32.1
1980-84 14.4 11.8 23.0 18.0 22.7
1985 11.9 9.8 19.7 13.8 12.9
1986 11.4 9.5 18.0 12.3 15.6
1987 11.1 9.0 17.5 11.5 19.7
1988 10.1 7.6 17.0 10.5 18.7
1989 10.0 8.2 15.0 12.4 13.1
1990 9.9 7.9 15.8 6.0 13.4
1991 9.2 7.2 14.5 11.1 13.9
1992 9.4 7.5 14.2 11.0 18.3
1993 7.8 5.7 13.2 8.5 14.2
Table 1: Population Growth, 1948-1993
==
End Population Period Annual average Pct. growth Total
of (x1000) per 1,000 immigration
year population during the
period
Total Natural From From
growth increase natural immigra-
increase tion
1948* 805.6
1948-51 214.5 24.0 13.0 87.0 687,600
1951 1,577.8
1952-54 29.6 24.5 85.4 14.6 54,700
1954 1,717.8
1955-64 38.4 20.5 53.3 46.7 471,300
1964 2,525.6
1965-74 28.0 19.5 69.3 30.7 341,800
1974 3,421.6
1975-79 19.5 22.9 85.0 14.9 124,800
1979 3,836.2
1980-84 19.0 17.2 90.6 9.4 83,600
1984 4,199.7
1985-89 16.4 16.2 98.2 1.8 70,200
1989 4,559.6
1990-93 23.8 14.8 38.0 62.0 530,200
1993 5,320.0
*May 1948 (estimate)
Table 2: Births, Deaths, and Natural Increase, 1990-1992
Total Jews Muslims Christians Druse and
population others
Birth rate 21.7 18.9 37.0 20.3 30.2
Death rate 6.3 7.0 3.3 4.5 3.5
Rate of
natural increase 15.4 11.9 33.7 15.8 26.7
Table 3: Age Groups and Population, 1955-1993 (Pct.)
Year Total 0-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-64 65-74 75+
population
1955 100.0 14.2 21.1 15.3 14.5 12.6 17.5 3.3 1.4
1965 100.0 11.8 22.6 17.6 12.1 11.5 18.3 4.3 1.8
1975 100.0 12.7 20.2 18.8 13.9 9.7 16.7 5.5 2.4
1985 100.0 11.3 21.2 16.9 15.2 11.3 15.3 5.4 3.5
1993 100.0 10.3 19.6 17.7 14.1 13.1 15.7 5.7 3.7
1993
Jews 100.0 9.1 18.4 17.0 13.6 13.9 17.0 6.6 4.3
Muslims 100.0 16.9 25.6 21.9 15.4 8.8 8.8 1.5 1.0
Christians 100.0 9.7 18.7 17.9 18.1 14.3 15.6 3.8 1.9
Druse 100.0 14.0 24.6 22.4 15.9 9.9 9.5 2.2 1.6
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