CBS report: Number of singles in Israel drastically rises

Past four decades show major increase in number of single men, women aged 25-29 in Israel. Tel Aviv holds record in number of singles with 83% of unmarried men, 71% of single women

Ynet|Published: 08.02.12 , 07:03

Ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Tu B'Av (similar to Valentine's Day), the Central Bureau of Statistics released a study of demographic changes in Israel indicating that the number of single men and women in their late 20s has drastically increased over the past forty years.

According to the recently released information, some 65% of men between the ages of 25 and 29 are single, compared to a mere 28% in 1970. Meanwhile, the percentage of single women between the ages of 25 and 29 has hiked over the past forty years from 13% to 46%.

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Statistics show that in 2010, some 47,855 of couples got married through authorities with jurisdiction over marriage ceremonies; 35,588 of the couples were Jewish and 10,220 of the couples were Arab; 782 of the couples were Christian while 894 of the couples were Druze.

In 2010, the average age of marriage among men was 27.6 and the average age for women was 24.8, as opposed to 1970 when the average age for women was 21.7.

The average age gap between Jewish men and women in 2010 was 2.1 years, while in other religions the age gap was higher and stood at 5 years.

Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem

Statistics further showed that Tel Aviv has the highest percentage of single men (83%) and women (71%). In Haifa, 74% of men are single as opposed to 55% of women, while in Israel's capital, 50% of the men are single and 38% of women are single.

Generally speaking, the data showed that most married respondents are satisfied with their lives, more than single and divorced respondents. Some 41% of married respondents claim that they are extremely satisfied with their lives compared with 19% of the divorced respondents.

Amongst younger respondents aged 20-39, 49% of the married respondents said that they were extremely satisfied with their lives, compared with 44% of single respondents and 22% of the divorced respondents.

Between the ages of 40 and 59, only 38% of married respondents said that they were extremely satisfied with their lives, compared with 23% of single respondents and 20% of the divorced respondents. Over the age of 60, 33% of married respondents said that they were extremely satisfied with their lives, compared with 16% of the divorced respondents.