How Many Druze Live in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics estimated approximately 152,000 Druze in Israel in February 2024, and counts them inside its Arabs group.
Approximately 152,000 Druze were living in Israel in February 2024, on the preliminary estimate the Central Bureau of Statistics published for the Nabi Shu’ayb festival. The Central Bureau of Statistics puts the Druze population at the founding of the State at 14,500, and states that the current estimate is more than a tenfold increase on it. The same release reports the rest of its Druze data for earlier periods: population by locality for the end of 2022, households for 2023, and education for the 2022/23 academic year and the 2023/24 school year.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| approximately 152,000 | Druze population of Israel, preliminary estimate | February 2024 |
| 14,500 | Druze population at the founding of the State, against which the Bureau states a more than tenfold increase | Founding of the State |
| 17,600 and 17,500 | Druze populations of Daliyat al-Karmel and Yirka, the two largest | End of 2022 |
| 1.85 | Children per Druze woman, total fertility rate, against 2.00 the previous year | 2022 |
| approximately 41,000 | Druze households, approximately 1.4% of all households in Israel | 2023 |
| 5,859 | Druze students in all institutions of higher education | 2022/23 academic year |
| 2.157 million | Arabs in Israel’s population, the group in which the Bureau counts Moslems, Arab Christians and Druze | Eve of the 78th Independence Day, preliminary |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, the Nabi Shu’ayb festival release of 2024 for the Druze figures and the Independence Day 2026 release for the Arabs figure.
The Bureau’s Nabi Shu’ayb release counts Israel’s Druze population
The approximately 152,000 is a preliminary estimate for February 2024, and it is the only Druze population figure in the release carrying that date. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no share of the national total beside it, and the Druze do not appear as a separate line in the Bureau’s headline population breakdown. The one share the release does state is a share of households: approximately 41,000 Druze households in 2023, approximately 1.4% of all households in Israel, which is a proportion of households and not of people.
Druze live mainly in the north, on the Bureau’s locality figures
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports Druze populations by locality for the end of 2022, a period 14 months earlier than its headline estimate, so the two are not one series.
- Daliyat al-Karmel, 17,600 Druze residents, the largest Druze locality on the Bureau’s count for the end of 2022.
- Yirka, 17,500 Druze residents, the second largest on the same count.
The Bureau counts Druze inside its Arab population group
The Central Bureau of Statistics divides Israel’s population into three published categories, and its own definitions place Moslems, Arab Christians and Druze together in the group it calls Arabs. A reader who adds the Druze total to the published Jews and Others and Arabs figures counts the same people twice. Where a group is reported on its own, the Bureau does it in a dedicated release, as with its Christmas release, which recorded approximately 184,200 Christians in Israel in December 2025 on a preliminary estimate.
| Category | Figure | What the Bureau includes | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 10.244 million | Resident population of Israel, preliminary | Eve of the 78th Independence Day, up to date for 22 April 2026 |
| Jews and Others | 7.790 million (76%) | Jews, non-Arab Christians, other religions, and those registered as not classified by religion | Same estimate |
| Arabs | 2.157 million (21.1%) | Moslems, Arab Christians and Druze | Same estimate |
| Foreigners | 296,000 (2.9%) | Foreigners staying in Israel, counted in the total and outside both named groups | End of 2025 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s Independence Day 2026 release. Further detail on the categories is in how the Bureau counts Israel’s population.
How fast has the Druze population grown, on the Bureau’s figures?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded a total fertility rate of 1.85 children per Druze woman in 2022, against 2.00 the previous year, and dates the peak of the Druze rate to 1964 at 7.92 children per woman, declining since the mid-1960s. The Bureau’s comparison with 1948 is its own: 14,500 at the founding of the State, and more than a tenfold increase to the February 2024 estimate. On the Bureau’s end-2022 figures, children aged 0 to 14 were 23.8% of the Druze population.
The Golan Heights carries no separate Druze figure here
The Central Bureau of Statistics names Daliyat al-Karmel and Yirka as the largest Druze localities in its Nabi Shu’ayb release and publishes no separate count of Druze residents of the Golan Heights in it, and no breakdown of the Druze population by residency status. Its Independence Day 2025 release recorded a resident population of 10.094 million, preliminary, based on the 2022 census and up to date for the end of May 2025, and states that from 2023 the estimates include foreigners recorded as entering Israel from 2008 with no record of exiting.
Which of these figures may not be added together?
The 152,000 is a preliminary February 2024 estimate; the locality figures are for the end of 2022, the household figures for 2023 and the education figures for academic and school years, so they do not form one series.
Druze are counted inside the Bureau’s Arabs group, so the Druze total may not be added to the published Jews and Others and Arabs figures.
The approximately 1.4% is a share of all households in Israel in 2023, not a share of the population.
The 14,500 for 1948 and the more than tenfold comparison are the Central Bureau of Statistics’ own.
From 2023 the Bureau’s population estimates include foreigners staying in Israel, so the totals are not continuous with earlier years.
Questions readers ask
Who publishes the official Druze population figure for Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes it, most recently in its release marking the Nabi Shu’ayb festival.
Is the 152,000 a final figure?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics published it as a preliminary estimate for February 2024.
Does the Bureau list Druze separately in its headline population breakdown?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics reports three categories, Jews and Others, Arabs and foreigners, and counts Druze within the Arabs group alongside Moslems and Arab Christians.
How many Druze households are there in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted approximately 41,000 Druze households in 2023, approximately 1.4% of all households in Israel.
Which localities have the largest Druze populations?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded Daliyat al-Karmel at 17,600 and Yirka at 17,500 at the end of 2022.
What is the Druze fertility rate?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 1.85 children per Druze woman in 2022, against 2.00 in 2021.
When was the Druze fertility rate at its highest?
The Central Bureau of Statistics dates the peak to 1964 at 7.92 children per woman, with the rate declining since the mid-1960s.
How many Druze study in higher education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 5,859 Druze students across all institutions of higher education in the 2022/23 academic year, a rise of 0.2% on the previous year, against about 1,600 in 1999/00.
How many Druze teach in Israel’s schools?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 3,741 Druze employed as teaching staff in the education system in the 2023/24 school year, against 3,633 the previous year.
How many Druze hold academic teaching posts?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 185 Druze academic teaching staff at institutions of higher education in 2022/23, an increase of 1.0% over 183 the previous year.
What share of Druze households contain employed persons?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 83.8% in 2023, against 79.3% among Moslems and 77.7% among Christians.
How many people live in Israel in total?
The Central Bureau of Statistics estimated 10.244 million on the eve of the 78th Independence Day, preliminary and up to date for 22 April 2026.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. The Druze Population of Israel On the Occasion of the Nabi Shu’ayb Festival 2024. Media release. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Israel’s Independence Day 2025. Media release. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Christmas 2025, Christians in Israel. Media release 413/2025. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2026. Israel’s Independence Day 2026. Media release 117/2026. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
