Israel's population near the end of 2016 stood at 8.63 million, according to figures released on Thursday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Nearly three quarters, 6.45 million, are Jews, while the nearly 1.8 million Arabs constitute almost 21 percent of the population. The remaining 4.4 percent amounts to 384 thousand people.
In addition to the 27,000 immigrants reported earlier, there were more births than deaths for an increase of 167,000 people, which equalled two percent, consistent with growth in the last decade. There was a net loss between newcomers and people leaving the country.