Jerusalem Demographics

Jerusalem's Changing Demographics
Since the 1860s, there has been a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. With high Arab growth rate and the increasing flight of Jews from the city, how much longer will Jews be the majority in Jerusalem?

Jerusalem - A Demographic Problem for Israel

As of 2005, Jerusalem is home to 475,000 Jews and 245,000 Arabs. This 66 percent Jewish - 34 percent Arab ratio is narrowing by about 1 percentage point a year.

As Jerusalem’s Arab population swells and Jewish population shrinks, Israelis are becoming increasingly concerned about the difficulty of maintaining Jerusalem’s status as the eternal capital of the Jewish State in the future.

See also:
Jerusalem, Jerusalem - Name, Jerusalem - History, Jerusalem - Status as Israel's capital, Jerusalem - Palestinian position, Jerusalem - UN position, Jerusalem - United States position, Jerusalem - United Kingdom position, Jerusalem - Arguments for and against internationalization, Jerusalem - Religious significance, Jerusalem - Geography and demography, Jerusalem - Geography, Jerusalem - Neighborhoods places and monuments, Jerusalem - Demographics, Jerusalem - Tourism, Jerusalem - Museums, Jerusalem - Jerusalem today, Jerusalem - Mayors and government, Jerusalem - Economy, Jerusalem - Transportation, Jerusalem - Roads, Jerusalem - Buses, Jerusalem - Railway, Jerusalem - Airports, Jerusalem - Born in Jerusalem, Jerusalem - External reference and links, Jerusalem - Official site, Jerusalem - Photographs, Jerusalem - Maps, Jerusalem - Status of the city, Jerusalem - History, Jerusalem - News and media, Jerusalem - Institutions, Jerusalem - Books

Page last Updated 12/07/2007

Jerusalem is a divided city. Since 1948 it has been a divided city and it will always remain a divided city. Founded around 3000 BCE, the Old City of Jerusalem is divided into Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Armenian quarter At the time of Jesus, the city had an estimated population of 80,000 (Time Magazine). In 2003, the population of the Old City was comprised of 31,405 Arabs and 3,965 "Jews and others" (Choshen 12). That same year the total population of Jerusalem was 693,217 including 464,527 "Jews and others" and 228,690 Arabs (Choshen 1).

As of May 24, 2006, Jerusalem's population is 724,000 (about 10% of the total population of Israel),
It should be noted that these official Israeli statistics refer to the expanded Israel municipality of Jerusalem. This includes not only the area of the pre-1967 Israeli and Jordanian municipalities, but also outlying Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods east of the city, which were not part of Jordanian East Jerusalem prior to 1967.
Jerusalemites are of varied national, ethnic and religious denominations and include European, Middle Eastern, and African Jews, as well as Palestinians, Muslim and Christian Arabs, and Greek, Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic Christians, among others. Many of these groups were once immigrants or pilgrims that have over time become near indigenous populations and claim the importance of Jerusalem to their faith as their reason for moving to and being in the city.