As Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Memorial Day) comes to a close, Israelis will begin celebrating the Jewish state's 68th birthday. The Times of Israel reports that 68 years into its existence, the modern state of Israel has increased by tenfold:
On the eve of Israel’s 68th birthday, the
country’s population stands at 8,522,000, according to figures released
Monday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
There are 6,377,000 Jewish Israelis,
74.8% of the total population, and 1,771,000 Arab Israelis, 20.8% of the
population, the bureau said. Christians, non-Arabs, and other minority
groups account for 374,000 people, or 4.4% of the population.
By comparison, the nascent State of Israel had a population of just 806,000 in 1948.
Israel’s Independence Day begins with
celebrations on Wednesday night, as the country transitions from
Memorial Day — 24 hours of mourning for its fallen soldiers and terror
victims...
In 1948, there was only one city in
Israel that had more than 100,000 residents — Tel Aviv. Today, there are
14 cities with more than 100,000 residents and eight cities that have a
population of 200,000 or more — Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon
Lezion, Petah Tikva, Ashdod, Netanya, and Beersheba.
The bureau also touted growing affluence
in the country since the Jewish state’s salad days, noting that while
there were 34,103 cars tooting about in 1951, in 2014 there were
2,965,727 clogging Israel’s roadways.
Similarly, while in 1956/1957 only 12 percent of Israelis had washing machines, today 96% do.
About the same number of people have cell phones today, while in 1963, only 13% had a phone line.
No comments:
Post a Comment