Jerusalem - Facts and Trends 2018

Jerusalem at a Glance: 2018

Population

Jerusalem is Israel’s most populous city. At the end of 2016 its population numbered 882,700, accounting for 10% of Israel’s total population. Jerusalem has the largest Jewish population in Israel, at 550,100, as well as the largest Arab population, at 332,600.  Jerusalem is a mixed city. In 2016 its population comprised 536,600 Jews4 and 332,600 Arabs (319,800 – 96% Muslim; 12,600 – 4% Christian; 200 Druze), 3,200 non-Arab Christians, and 10,300 residents with no religious classification. 

Standard of Living

The poverty rate in Jerusalem (46%) is higher than that of Israel at large (22%) and of its other major cities. In 2016 the poverty rate among the city’s Arab population (75%) was significantly higher than the rate among its Jewish population (29%). In 2016 Jerusalem had a total of 218,40022 households as follows: 153,000 Jewish households (70%) and 62,200 Arab households (29%). The Jewish population accounted for a higher share of households (70%) than its portion of the city’s population (63%), and the discrepancy is attributable to the relatively large number of small households within the Jewish population.

Employment

In 2016 the labor force participation rate among Jerusalem residents of peak working ages (25-64) was 68%, significantly lower than the rate in Israel at large (81%), Tel Aviv (88%), or Haifa (85%). In 2016 the number of employed persons in Jerusalem (aged 15 and older) totaled 329,100, constituting 9% of the total for Israel. Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic and business center, had more employed persons than Jerusalem, at 420,000, accounting for 11% of Israel’s total. Haifa had 176,500 employed persons, constituting 5% of the total figure for Israel.

Housing

As of the end of 2017, Jerusalem had 223,100 residential apartments: 168,700 apartments (76%) in Jewish neighborhoods and 54,400 apartments (24%) in Arab neighborhoods. The percentage of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods was higher than the percentage of Jerusalem’s Jewish population, which stood at 62% at the close of 2016. The percentage of apartments in Arab neighborhoods was lower than the percentage of Jerusalem’s Arab population, at 38%. The reason for this discrepancy lies in the relatively large size of households within the Arab population (5.2 persons) relative to the Jewish population (3.4 persons).