One-third of Israel's population under age of 18, report shows

According to Central Bureau of Statistics, 3,049,000 children and teens are living in Israel - 2.2 million (72.4%) of whom were Jewish and 737,000 (24.2%) were Arab; one-fourth of all Jewish children are ultra-Orthodox
Yaron Druckman|
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One-third of Israel's population is under the age of 18, according to a report published Wednesday ahead of International Children's Day.
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    • According to Israel Central Bureau of Statistic's report, at the end of 2020, 3,049,000 children under the age of 18 were living in Israel - 2.2 million (72.4%) of whom were Jewish and 737,000 (24.2%) were Arab.
    2 View gallery
    Children at the Western Wall celebrating Jerusalem Day     Children at the Western Wall celebrating Jerusalem Day
    Children at the Western Wall celebrating Jerusalem Day
    (Photo: AP)
    The other 105,000 (3.4%) are defined by the bureau as non-religious or non-Arab Christians.
    With Israel's population standing at around 9.2 million at the end of last year, at least 33% of the country's residents are children.
    The report also pointed to a continued decrease in juvenile population within the Arab sector. While in 2005, 47% of Arabs were under the age of 18, the figure had dropped to 44% in 2010.
    The CBS said that the decrease in the percentage of Arab children is mainly due to a decrease in birth rates. In the early 2000s, the average Arab woman had 4 children, but the figure had dropped to 3.5 in 2010 and to 2.82 in 2020.
    Data also showed that one-fourth of Jewish children aged 0-17 were ultra-Orthodox, despite the fact that the Haredi community makes up only around 16% of Israel's population.
    The highest percentage of children in large cities with more than 100,000 residents was in Beit Shemesh (51.6%), followed by Bnei Brak (48.2%) and Jerusalem (39.2%).
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    Children at a polling station during the March 2021 elections     Children at a polling station during the March 2021 elections
    Children at a polling station during the March 2021 elections
    (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
    In other big cities, the percentage of children is lower than the national level, which stands at 31%. The lowest percentage of children was in Tel Aviv-Yafo (21.0%) and Bat Yam (20.8%).
    The majority of children in Israel (91%) live with two parents, according to the report. Only about 246,000 children live with a single parent, with the majority of them (88%) living with their mothers.
    The CBS also published data regarding underage marriage and pregnancy.
    In 2019, 396 girls under the age of 18 were married. About 94% of them were Muslim, with the majority of them residing in Jerusalem.
    In 2020, 196 underaged girls gave birth, 152 of them Muslim and 37 Jewish. Data showed for 91% of them it was their first child.
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