Israel's population, currently 7,150,000, increased by 121,000 over the past year - a growth rate of 1.8%, twice as high as that of the United States.
The Central Bureau of Statistics released a series of national statistics on Monday, in honor of Israel's 59th Independence Day, falling on Monday night and Tuesday. The Jewish population comprises 76% of the country, and Arabs and Druze - 20%.
Nearly 148,000 babies were born in 2006 - up 2.7% from the previous year - and 18,400 new immigrants arrived. (In 2005, births were down by 1% ; Moslem births dropped 5%, while Jewish births remained unchanged.)
The country's five largest cities, as of the end of 2006, all number more than 200,000 people. Jerusalem (732,100), Tel Aviv (384,600), Haifa (267,000), Rishon LeTzion (222,300) and Ashdod (204,400) account for a quarter of the nation's population. Another 462,200, or 6%, live in small towns, while just 119,700 - under 2% - live on kibbutzim.
The fastest-growing towns in Israel in 2006 were Nitzan and Yad Binyamin, each of which more than doubled its population due to the influx of Gush Katif expellees. Nitzan now numbers 2,600 people, and Yad Binyamin - 1,000. The next fastest-growing town was Geva Binyamin (Adam), just north of Jerusalem in southern Shomron, which grew by 28.5% to 3,100 Jews. The hareidi-religious city of Elad, near Petach Tikvah, grew by 11.1%, to 28,400.
A survey commissioned by the Immigration Ministry has found that 80% of the new immigrants see Israel as home, and 95% of them plan to actively commemorate Independence Day as do many other Israelis - with a picnic or barbecue.
Independence Day Preparations
The police, reinforced with IDF, Border Guard and volunteer Civil Guard personnel, will be out in extra force during the holiday. Special traffic arrangements will be in effect in Tel Aviv and neighboring cities during part of the day.