Christians in Israel grow (slightly) through immigration. Educated and active
The data emerged from the latest report of the Central Statistics Department. There are about 175 thousand Christians today in Israel, equal to 2% of the population. The population increase of 2.2%. 78.5% of the 12-year-olds graduated from secondary education, just under 70% of the active population.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - A Christian population that is growing, even with a lower child birth rate compared with Jews and Muslims, thanks also to the arrival of migrant workers. A good level of education among young people, with a figure that almost equals the Jewish majority and a percentage of increasingly significant active participation in the life of the country.
This is the picture revealed by data related to the Christian community of Israel, in the recent report elaborated by the Central Statistics Department and published in conjunction with the Christmas holidays (click here for the video).
According to the document, Christians today in Israel are about 175 thousand equal to 2% of the total population. In 2017, the population growth of the minority reached 2.2%, a marked increase compared to 1.4% in the previous year. According to experts, growth is linked to the arrival of 597 migrants from Ethiopia rather than a boom in new births (where problems remain).
According to territorial distribution, 70.6% of Christians live in northern Israel; the city with the greatest Christian presence is Nazareth, with over 22 thousand inhabitants, followed by Haifa with just under 16 thousand.
Regarding Christian marriages, 782 couples married in 2016; the average age for males 29.2, females 25.6. For 2017 the number of newborns reached 2504: the number of children up to seven years per family is 1.89, the lowest among the Israeli communities. The average of children in Jewish families is 2.39, surpassed by Muslims - the most prolific - with 2.83.
The best data is from education: 78.5% of the 12-year-olds graduated from secondary school, which provides access to higher education (for Muslims, the figure is 59.5%, Jewish students reach 78.7%) %). For the academic year 2017/18 the number of Christian students in high schools has reached 5900, equal to 2.3% of the total. 73% completed their studies, 22.8% graduated and 3.3% also received a degree.
Finally, the Christian population active in Israel in 2017, which includes people aged 15 and over, reached 68.6%, distributed as follows: 63.3% of males and 74.7% of females.
Education, health and above all tourism - in particular pilgrimages -are the sectors in which the Christian community finds its most frequent employment.
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