According to Israel’s census bureau, the number of total Bnei Brak residents has surpassed 200,000 for the first time. The total number of residents of the city according to th bureau is 200,162, as of halfway through last Hebrew calendar year of 5,777. Over the past year the city’s population grew by almost 3,000 people. The number has steadily been increasing.

The number of babies and toddlers up the age of 5 is 37,743 giving the city a very high birthrate. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the averagefamily in Bnei Brak has 8 children making it the city with the highest average among middle and large cities in Israel.

Avraham Tenneboim, City Secretary of Bnei Brak said: “In spite of what external research companies will tell you, the most accurate number of residents is in the hand of the citizenship bureau, as these statistics keep changing,”

It is expected, that by 2030 the city will have a population of 230,000.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)