The yearly Facts and Trends in the State of the City and Its Changing Trends report provided by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, based on data gathered by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the municipality and the National Insurance Institute, provides a picture of life in Jerusalem. About 10% of all residents of Israel are Jerusalemites. At the end of 2016, Jerusalem's had 882,700 residents: 332,600 (38%) Arabs and 550,100 (62%) Jews and others (non-Arabs). The breakdown by religion is 536,630 Jews (61%), 319,840 Muslims (36%) and 15,720 Christians (2%) of whom 12,550 are Arab Christians and another 10,290 are uncategorized residents (1%). In 2016, Jerusalem's population increased by 2% (17,000 residents). The Jewish population grew by 1.5% (8,100 residents) and the Arab population grew by 2.7% (8,800 residents). The Arab growth rate in Jerusalem in 2016 was 2.7%, down from 2.9% at the start of the decade and 3.1% in the previous decade. The Jewish growth rate in Jerusalem in 2016 was 1.5%, up from 1.4% at the start of the decade and 1.2% in the previous decade. For the second straight year, the Jewish birthrate outpaced the Arab birthrate. The highest birthrate is in Mea She'arim (52 births per 1,000 residents). About 75% of Jerusalem Arabs and 29% of Jews live below the poverty line. Average per household monthly expenses in Jerusalem come to NIS 3,600, compared to NIS 4,800 in Israel, 5,900 NIS in Haifa and NIS 7,700 in Tel Aviv. 2017 was a peak year for tourism to Jerusalem. The number of hotel guests reached 1,653,900 and the number of hotel overnight stays reached 4,504,400. The primary countries of tourist origin were the US, Russia and China. The number of new immigrants choosing Jerusalem as their first home in Israel has been rising since 2014. The annual mortality rate in Jerusalem is 4.2 deaths per 1,000 residents; in the nation overall it is 5.2 deaths per 1,000 residents. Most Jerusalem residents (61%) live in areas added to the city in 1967: 39% of the Jewish population and 99% of the Arab population. The largest Jewish neighborhoods in the city are Ramot Allon (46,140 residents), Pisgat Ze'ev (41,930) and Gilo (30,900). The largest Arab neighborhoods are Beit Hanina (39,210 residents), E-Tur (26,460) and Kafr Aqab (26,320). Some 34% of Jerusalemites are haredi; 33% are religious. In the country as a whole, those percentages are 9% and 23% respectively. About 34% of Jerusalem Jews are secular and traditional compared to 67% in the country as a whole, 83% in Haifa and 86% in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Jerusalem residents who moved out of the city in 2015 went to Beit Shemesh (1,970), Tel Aviv (1,540) and to Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit and Givat Zeev (3,080 altogether.) During the same year, 630 moved in from Bnei Brak, 600 from Tel Aviv, 570 from Beit Shemesh and 450 from Ma'aleh Adumim. In 2015 a total of 10,300 new residents moved to Jerusalem from other localities in Israel. Jerusalem's overall migration balance in 2015 was negative: -7,800.
A father and son in Mea She’arim(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)