פרסומים – מכון ירושלים למחקרי מדיניות

Summary

Publication Year: 2023

Authors:

Omer Yaniv, Yair Assaf-Shapira, Netta Haddad, Ariel Gefen

“Jerusalem: Facts and Trends” is part of the data services array of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, and over the years it has established itself as the “face” of the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem.

It is intended to serve as a handy reference – a quick and convenient resource for relevant data, alongside diagrams and concise explanations that present these data within the broader context. “Facts and Trends” presents an up-to-date picture of Jerusalem, with attention to the city’s population and how it compares with Israel as a whole, and with Israel’s other major cities.

Population

Jerusalem is the most populous city in Israel. At the end of 2021 Jerusalem’s population numbered 966,200, which was double that of Tel Aviv.

In 2021 Jerusalem had a population of 590,600 Jews and others (extended Jewish population), of whom 576,600 were Jews (and the remainder were residents without religious classification and others); 375,600 Arabs (362,600 Muslims and 12,900 Christians; 97% and 3%, respectively); 3,500 non-Arab Christians; and 10,500 residents without religious classification.

Migration

In 2021 a total of 11,900 new residents (henceforth: in-migrants) moved to Jerusalem from other localities in Israel. The number of migrants to the city that year was higher than the figure for 2020 (11,000).

In addition, a total of 22,700 residents (henceforth: out-migrants) migrated from Jerusalem to other localities in Israel. The number of migrants from Jerusalem that year was significantly higher than the figure for 2020 (18,800). In 2021 the net inter-city migration for Jerusalem (the difference between the number of in-migrants and the number of out-migrants) was negative, at -10,800. Jerusalem’s total net migration (taking into account new immigrants, residents leaving for or arriving from overseas, and family reunification) was also negative, but higher than the net inter-city migration, at -6,600.

In 2021 the number of immigrants who chose Jerusalem as their first place of residence in Israel was the highest among Israel’s cities, at 3,700. The immigrants who chose to live in Jerusalem accounted for 14% of all immigrants to Israel. The Jerusalem neighborhoods in which the largest numbers of immigrants settled were Giv’at Sha’ul (310 immigrants), Bak’a, Yemin Moshe, and Abu Tor (250), Romema (230), and Rehavia (180).

Poverty Rate

Jerusalem’s population is, on average, one of the poorest in Israel. In 2021, 39% of the families in Jerusalem (125,900), comprising 42% of the persons (415,700) and 51% of the children (202,400) were living below the poverty line. Poverty is a particularly prevalent phenomenon among the Haredi and Arab populations.

Tourism

In 2022 Jerusalem was the preferred destination among foreign tourists, in terms of overnight-stays. During that year Jerusalem recorded 2,394,900 overnight stays, accounting for 34% of all the overnight stays by foreign visitors to Israel. By comparison, 31% of the overnight stays by foreign visitors to Israel were recorded for Tel Aviv’s tourist hotels, 8% for Tiberias, and 3% for the Dead Sea.

Jerusalem is not a preferred destination among Israelis. In 2022, Jerusalem had a record number of overnight stays by Israelis at tourist hotels – at 1,259,100 – but this number constituted only 8% of all the overnight stays by Israelis in Israel (comparable to their relative proportion in 2019), compared with 42% for Eilat, 11% for the Dead Sea, and 8% for Tel Aviv.