13 MILLION WORLD JEWS, 40% IN ISRAEL

13 m. Jews worldwide - 40% of them in Israel
On the eve of the Jewish new year, there are 13 million Jews living worldwide, including 5.2 million in Israel. According to Jewish Agency figures, 5.6 million are living in North America, 1.2 million in Europe, 413,000 in the former Soviet Union, 401,000 in South America, 84,000 in Africa, 107,000 in Australia and New Zealand, and 19,000 in Asia.

Meanwhile, Israel's Jews make up 81% of the country's 6.8 million people, according to a Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) census published on the eve of the New Year. Israel is also home to 287,000 'others' not registered as Jews, and 1.3 million Arabs. Arabs comprise 19% of the population. The figures do not include the 189,000 foreign workers counted at the end of 2003, CBS noted.

According to the report, Israel's population rose by 1.6% or 110,000 people in 5764 (2003-2004), after a 1.8% rise in 5763. About 145,000 babies were born during the year, about 6,000 more than in 5763. During the year 5764, about 22,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel, with half from former Soviet Union republics, 15% from Ethiopia, and 9% from France. In 5763, there were 27,000 new immigrants.

Tourism increased by 23 percent in 2003, a reversal of a slump that began with the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in 2000. Most visitors came from the United States, the bureau said. During 2003, the Arab minority had a growth rate of 3 percent, compared to 1.4 percent among the Jewish majority, the statistics bureau said.

That created a disparity under which the median age in the Jewish population is 30.4, while the Arab median is 19.7. The average Israeli household has 3.13 people, while the average Arab household has five.

Among the Jewish population, women outnumbered men by a ratio of 1,000 to 966 during 2003. The gap widened with age, and at age 75, there were just 670 men per thousand women. The men may catch up in the future, though. There were 105.6 baby boys born for every 100 baby girls during 2003. The average age of a woman having her first child was 25.8. Some 6% of Jewish babies born during 2003 were born to single mothers, compared to 45% in Denmark and 40% in Great Britain. Some 72% of Israeli households have at least one person in the workforce, and another 15% are pensioners. Among Israelis, 57.2% of households have two people working, while 34.1% of Arab households do.