Press Briefing – Jerusalem Day 2021

Approaching one million and more diverse than ever

In honor of the 54th Jerusalem Day, Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research Chairman Dan Halperin, Director-General Lior Schillat, and members of the Institute’s staff presented the President of Israel, Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, and the Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, with copies of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem.

The Institute’s researchers have, for the first time, analyzed some of the city’s data in relation to its various constituent population groups. This approach stemmed from the understanding that the average composition of the capital’s population, particularly if analyzing socio-economic data, does not reflect the unique nature of the city’s population groups.

The findings reveal that population groups within the city have characteristics similar to parallel groups elsewhere in Israel. For example, the socio-economic index of general Jewish neighborhoods stands at 6,  equivalent to the figure for Ma’ale Adumim, Gush Etzion, Netanya, and Hadera, while the ranking for ultra-orthodox (Haredi) and Arab neighborhoods is 1, which is equivalent to the figure for Modi’in Illit, Betar Illit, Rahat, and Kuseife.

President of Israel, Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin

The Statistical Yearbook contains important information pertaining to all of Jerusalem’s strata, all its neighborhoods. East and West, old and new, religious and secular, Jewish and Arab. Jerusalem’s future is also the future of the State of Israel. Jerusalem is a microcosm of our existence here. Despite all the complexities, Jerusalem embodies the solution. It is here, in the city that comprises the full range of Israel’s demography in all its richness, that we need to find a way to create a dialogue, to connect, to cooperate.

“I wish to thank the Institute’s staff members for their dedicated work, and for their effort to convey a true picture of what transpires in Jerusalem. The persistent, continuous struggle to understand this reality and make it accessible to the public is of particular importance.”

Director-General of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, Lior Schillat

The ‘year of COVID-19’ and recent events demonstrate just how much Israel’s capital is a multi-faceted and multi-varied city; how very heterogeneous it is nationally, religiously, and socially; and in particular – the extent to which developments and events in Jerusalem have political significance and make an impact throughout the entire country. In many respects the developments and trends in the city are a prelude to what will transpire throughout Israel in the coming decades. In this sense Jerusalem is Israel’s ‘national laboratory’.

Full Announcement

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Key Findings

• Population: Jerusalem is approaching one million residents and remains Israel’s most populous city, with 952,000 residents.
• Education: Israel’s capital has the largest and most diverse education system in the country, with 293,600 students, numerically exceeding the entire population of Haifa.
• Economy: Jerusalem has the second-largest economy in Israel, with 344,300 employed persons, who account for 9% of the total in Israel (Tel Aviv has 11%). The data point to the salience of the city’s high-tech services sector, which has been showing a continuous upward trend since 2015.
• Transportation: The percentage of Jerusalemites who rely on public transportation and use it to commute to work stands at 30%, compared with 18% for Israel at large.
• Higher education: The Hebrew University has the highest rate of increase in the number of students and remains the university with the largest number of doctoral students (2,300).
• Housing: Jerusalem has a high and continuous demand for housing. The average price of a 3.5-4 room apartment in Jerusalem is NIS 2.26 million, compared with a national average of NIS 1.56 million.