According to data of the Central Bureau of Statistics from the end of 2009, a total of 66% of the city’s population (aged 20 and above) were married, whereas 23% were single, 6% were divorced, and 5% were widowed. The percentage of married individuals aged 20 and above in Jerusalem was comparable to the figure for Israel (63%) and much higher than the figure for Tel Aviv (46%). The data indicate that Jerusalemites marry at a young age. Among those aged 20-34 in Jerusalem, about 53% were married (compared to 28% in Tel Aviv). Interestingly, 9% of all married residents of the city were wed before age 24, compared to 4% in Israel and only 1.5% in Tel Aviv.
Divorce rates in Jerusalem were very low. Only 9% of those aged 35 and above in the city were divorced, compared to 16% in Tel Aviv and 14% in Haifa. The percentage of those divorced among the 35+ age group within the Jewish population was higher than the figure for the Arab population: 11% versus 3%, respectively. The percentage of singles within both population groups was identical, at 8%.
According to data of the National Council for the Child from the end of 2010, Jerusalem had 7,900 single-parent families, which included about 14,000 children under age 18. These children accounted for approximately 4% of all the city’s children. This is lower than the figure for Israel, in which 9% of all children belong to single-parent families. In Tel Aviv the percentage of children within single-parent families was especially high, measuring 17%.
