Over two million Israeli residents are children under the age
of 17 and they constitute over one-third of the population,
according to the Central Bureau for Statistics.
Jerusalem's 280,000 children represent 40 percent of that
city's total population, making it the city with the highest
proportion of children. As in previous years the highest
child-to-adult ratios in 2003 were found in Bedouin
communities in Southern Israel.
The figures also show that nearly 140,000 babies were born in
Israel in 2003—99,000 to Jewish women and 36,000 to
Muslim women. Over 50 percent of the babies are boys.
Forty-eight percent of all households in Israel include
children. The average number of children per family is 2.3:
2.2 in Jewish families and 3 in Arab families.
Ninety-two percent of the children live in a family with two
parents while 8 percent live in single-parent homes. The
figures also reveal 20 percent of the children or
grandchildren of immigrants from the former Soviet Union live
in single-parent homes—nearly three times the rate in
the general population.
During the year 2003, one-fourth of immigrants were children.
Forty-two percent of them immigrated from the former Soviet
Union.
In 5763, 737,000 children were enrolled in kindergartens and
day-care centers, representing 75 percent of all children
ages 2 to 5. In the primary grades, 773,000 children were
enrolled. In grades seven through nine, 245,000 children were
enrolled, while 343,000 students were enrolled in the upper
grades.
The enrollment rate among 14-17-year-olds came to 95 percent,
98 percent among Jewish students compared to 89 percent among
Arab students. The dropout rates for girls were lower than
for boys.
The dropout rate fell 6.2 percent compared to 6.6 percent in
previous years. In Arab schools the dropout rate is nearly
double at 10.1 percent.
Of the 2,253,800 children in total, some 1.5 million are Jews
compared to 609,000 Arabs. Of the total Arab population 49
percent are children, compared to 30.4 percent of the Jewish
population. One in every seven Muslim Israelis bears the name
Mohammed.
