Israel's statistics
Photo: AP
Census figures: 2.2 kids, 2.1 cell phones per family
Wide-scale Population census taken in 2008 bears fruit. Jewish women have fewer children than Muslim and Druze women. More than half of Israelis go to work by car. Most live in apartments with four rooms or less
After census workers canvassed Israel's streets in 2008, their hard work is now showing results. The results of the 2008 population census have been published Tuesday.
The average Israeli family has 2.2 children. Two out of every five Israelis aged 15 and older don't work, and more than half of those who do go to work by car. Most Israelis live in three- or four- room apartments, the figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate.
The figures, which refer back to the end of 2008, reveal that 7,409,900 people then lived in Israel – 75.6% of which are Jews, 16.9% are Muslim, 2% are Christian, 1.7% are Druze, and 3.8% are defined as not having any religion.
The figures also show that the average Jewish woman has 2.1 children, while the average Muslim woman has 3 children. The average Christian woman has 2.2 children, and the average Druze woman has 2.7 children. Those defined as without religious affiliation have just 1.4 children.
In 2008, 32.7% of families in Israel had one child, 31.4% had two, 19.7% had three, 8.6% had four, and 7.6% of families in Israel had five children or more.
Some 90,800 Israelis are 85 and older. On the other end of the spectrum, 740,900 Israelis have yet to celebrate their fifth birthday. The median age of men is 28, while the median age of women is 30. Some 35.9% of Israeli men aged 15 and older are bachelors, 56.5% are married, 5.6% are divorced, and 1.9% are widowers. Among women aged 15 and older, 28.6% are single, 54.2% are married, 8.5% are divorced, 8.8% are widows.
Some 71% of Israelis were born in Israel and 29% were born abroad.
Some 86.2% of working Israelis are salaried employees, 12.7% are independent, and 1.1% are defined as "other." A good 8.5% of Israeli between the ages 15 and 18 worked in 2008. The average Israeli man works 45.2 hours a week, versus the average Israeli woman who works 35.5 hours a week.
Most Israelis (33%) live in three-room apartments. Another 28% live in four-room apartments, 13% in five-room apartments. Nearly 5% of Israelis make do with one-room apartments, whereas 0.6% of Israelis are lucky enough to live in a property with eight or more rooms. On average, three people live in each household.
Some 71% have a computer at home. Ninety-one percent surf the internet. On average, an Israeli family has 2.1 cell phones.
