How Many Students Are in Israel’s Schools?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 1.910 million students in Israel’s education system in 2021/22, with group counts published separately.
1.910 million students were in Israel’s education system in the 2021/22 school year, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ count published in Israel in Figures 2023. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 795,900 of them in secondary education in the same school year. Counts for individual population groups sit in separate releases, each carrying its own school year.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1,910,000 | Students in the education system | School year 2021/22 |
| 395,348 | Moslem students in primary and secondary education, in the system supervised by the Ministry of Education | School year 2020/21 |
| 26,240 | Christian students in primary and secondary schools, 1.3% of all students | School year 2024/25 |
| 32,702 | Students of Ethiopian origin in the education system | School year 2021/22 |
| 6,700 | Christian students in higher education, 2.2% of all students, plus about 500 at the Open University | Academic year 2024/25 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, in Israel in Figures 2023 (2024), The Moslem Population in Israel (2022), Christmas 2025 (2025) and The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel (2023).
Israel in Figures 2023 counts 1.910 million students in 2021/22
The 1.910 million comes from Israel in Figures 2023, a selected-data booklet the Central Bureau of Statistics drew from the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2023 and published in 2024. It is one system-wide total for a school year, with no breakdown by population group in that release. Three further figures from the same booklet sit around it:
- The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded a national expenditure on education of NIS 132.0 billion, 7.5% of GDP, in 2022.
- The Central Bureau of Statistics counted a population of 9,662,000 at the end of 2022, the year in which most of the booklet’s other data sit.
- 181,193 live newborns were recorded for 2022, at a total fertility rate of 2.89 children per woman.
Which students does the Bureau’s 1.910 million include?
The figure is the Central Bureau of Statistics’ count of students in the education system, reported for a school year rather than a calendar year, and it is not a headcount of resident children of school age. The booklet reports it as a single total, with secondary education broken out.
| What the Bureau reports | As published |
|---|---|
| Unit counted | Students in the education system |
| Period | School year 2021/22 |
| Secondary education within the total | 795,900 students |
| Release and year of publication | Israel in Figures 2023, published 2024 |
| Population figure in the same release | 9,662,000, end of 2022 |
Higher education is a separate Bureau count, reported by group
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts higher education apart from the school system. Its Christmas 2025 release records 6,700 Christian students in institutions of higher education in the 2024/25 academic year, 2.2% of all students, with about 500 more at the Open University, and reports the share of women among students in each population group for the same year. Its Nabi Shu’ayb release of 2024 counts 5,859 Druze students across all institutions of higher education in 2022/23, a rise of 0.2% on the previous year. Neither release publishes a national total for higher education.
No release used here gives school enrolment by population group
No release used on this page divides the 1.910 million into population groups. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes group counts in separate occasion releases, each for its own school year and its own group, so the rows below are not slices of one total.
| Group | School figure | Period | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moslems | 395,348 students in primary and secondary education | 2020/21 | The Moslem Population in Israel, 2022 |
| Christians | 26,240 students in primary and secondary schools, 1.3% of all students | 2024/25 | Christmas 2025, 2025 |
| Persons of Ethiopian origin | 32,702 students in the education system | 2021/22 | The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel, 2023 |
| Druze | No school enrolment count in the release; 3,741 Druze employed as teaching staff | 2023/24 | The Druze Population of Israel, 2024 |
Which figures on this page may not be added together?
Every figure here is the Central Bureau of Statistics’ own compiled count, published across five releases with different periods.
- The 1.910 million belongs to school year 2021/22. It is not a current-year figure and none of the group counts is dated to the same year.
- The group school counts, 395,348 for 2020/21, 26,240 for 2024/25 and 32,702 for 2021/22, cover different groups in different years and do not sum to a national total.
- The 395,348 covers the education system supervised by the Ministry of Education, and the release states that data are lacking for many educational institutions in East Jerusalem.
- The school figures and the higher-education figures are separate counts. Adding them produces a total no release publishes.
- The percentages in the chart are shares of women within each group’s own higher-education students, not shares of one national student body.
Questions readers ask about Israel’s student numbers
How many students are in Israel’s education system?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 1,910,000 students in the education system in the 2021/22 school year, in Israel in Figures 2023.
How many students are in secondary education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 795,900 students in secondary education in the 2021/22 school year.
Which year does the 1.910 million cover?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports it for school year 2021/22, in a booklet published in 2024 whose population and health data are for calendar 2022.
How many Moslem students are in Israel’s schools?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 395,348 Moslem students in primary and secondary education in 2020/21, within the system supervised by the Ministry of Education.
How many Christian students are in Israel’s schools?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 26,240 Christian students in primary and secondary schools in 2024/25, 1.3% of all students.
How many Christian students are in higher education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 6,700 Christian students in higher education in 2024/25, 2.2% of all students, and about 500 more at the Open University.
How many Druze students are in higher education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 5,859 Druze students across all institutions of higher education in 2022/23, a rise of 0.2% on the previous year.
How many students of Ethiopian origin are in the education system?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 32,702 students of Ethiopian origin in the education system in the 2021/22 school year.
Which group has the highest share of women in higher education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 71.0% among Moslem students in 2024/25, against 63.3% among Druze, 61.1% among Christians and 58.3% among Jews and Others.
How many Druze work as teachers?
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.
What share of Christian 12th-graders were eligible for matriculation?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 87.7% of Christian 12th-grade students eligible for a matriculation certificate in the 2024/25 school year.
What does Israel spend on education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded a national expenditure on education of NIS 132.6 billion on health and NIS 132.0 billion on education in 2022, the education figure being 7.5% of GDP.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. The Moslem Population in Israel: Data on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha. Media Release 217/2022. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2023. The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel: Selected Data Published on the Occasion of the Sigd Festival 2023. Media Release 362/2023. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Israel in Figures 2023: Selected Data From the Statistical Abstract of Israel. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. The Druze Population of Israel On the Occasion of the Nabi Shu’ayb Festival 2024. Media Release 124/2024. 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.
