Israel said goodbye to 2015 and ushered in 2016 with 8,462,000 citizens, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released on Thursday show. Between the Jewish new year in mid-September and the Gregorian new year, some 68,000 new Israelis joined the fold.

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According to the CBS, 75 percent of Israelis (6,335,000) are Jewish, 21 percent (1,757,000) are Arab, and an additional four percent are considered "others" (Christians who are not Arab or people who don't have a religious calassification).

According to CBS estimates, by 2025, Israel would have 9.8 million citizens, and by 2035 the numbers should reach 11.4 million.



Photo: Reuters

Figures show that 176,700 babies were born in Israel in 2015, 74 percent of whom were Jewish, 32 percent Arab, and three percent "other".

Only 44,000 Israelis passed away during 2015. Immigration numbers show that 28,000 people immigrated to Israel (made aliyah) in 2015. A quarter of them came from France, 24 percent from Ukraine, and 23 percent from Russia.