Why Do Israeli Bodies Give Different East Jerusalem School Figures?
The Knesset Research Centre counts about 125,000 East Jerusalem students; the State Comptroller counts about 90,000. What each figure covers.
Approximately 125,000 students are in the Arab education system in East Jerusalem, on the figure published by the Knesset Research and Information Centre in 2025, while the State Comptroller of Israel records about 90,000 pupils in its audit of social services for the Arab population of East Jerusalem. The two totals cover different sets of institutions, and the Knesset paper counts kindergartens, public schools and unrecognised private schools within its total. Each Israeli curriculum share published by the two bodies rests on a different base, and the bases are set out below.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approximately 125,000 | Students in the Arab education system in East Jerusalem, all institution types | Knesset Research and Information Centre | As stated in its 2025 paper |
| 84,500 | Students in public schools, of whom about 40,000 in official schools and about 45,000 in recognised but unofficial schools | Knesset Research and Information Centre | 2023/24 |
| 15,400 | Students in unrecognised private schools | Knesset Research and Information Centre | Most recent data the paper received |
| 22,284 | Students studying under the Israeli curriculum, about 26% of students in official and recognised schools | Knesset Research and Information Centre | 2024/25 |
| About 90,000 | Pupils in East Jerusalem, of whom about 46% in official schools | State Comptroller of Israel | Not stated in the audit |
| About 42,500 | Pupils, about 47% of all East Jerusalem pupils, in schools that adopted the Israeli curriculum | State Comptroller of Israel | Not stated in the audit |
| About 92% | Share of pupils in the recognised system studying under the Palestinian Authority curriculum | State Comptroller of Israel | Not stated in the audit |
The Knesset counts 125,000 students and the Comptroller about 90,000
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records approximately 125,000 students in the Arab education system in East Jerusalem, and it breaks that total into public kindergartens, public schools and unrecognised private schools. The State Comptroller of Israel records about 90,000 pupils in the same area and reports that about 46% of them study in official schools, meaning schools held by the state or the municipality. East Jerusalem here is the area annexed to the Jerusalem municipal boundary, which the State Comptroller records was expanded in 1967 following the Six Day War.
22,284 students followed the Israeli curriculum in 2024/25
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counts 22,284 students studying under the Israeli curriculum in 2024/25, which it puts at approximately 26% of students in official and recognised schools in East Jerusalem. That base is the roughly 85,000 students in official and recognised schools, and it does not include the 15,400 in unrecognised private schools. The same paper gives the curriculum split across school types rather than a single citywide share.
The Comptroller’s 42,500 and the Knesset’s 22,284 use different bases
The two published shares are shares of different populations, and they count different objects: one counts schools that adopted a curriculum, the other counts students studying under one.
| Figure | The share, and its base | Who published it |
|---|---|---|
| 22,284 students | About 26% of students in official and recognised schools, a base excluding unrecognised private schools | Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2024/25 |
| About 42,500 pupils | About 47% of all East Jerusalem pupils, in schools that adopted the Israeli curriculum | State Comptroller of Israel |
| About 92% | Of pupils in the recognised system, studying under the Palestinian Authority curriculum | State Comptroller of Israel |
The State Comptroller of Israel scopes the 92% to the recognised system, which is a subset of the roughly 90,000 pupils it counts, and the same audit records about 46% of pupils in official schools.
The 2024 to 2028 plan sets 2 separate curriculum targets
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records that the government multi-year programme for 2024 to 2028 set two curriculum targets rather than one, each with its own school type and its own baseline. The baselines and the target are the government’s own, stated for its own programme, and they are intentions rather than recorded outcomes.
| School type | Baseline share on the Israeli curriculum | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Official and municipality-run recognised schools | 24% in 2022/23 | Raise the share |
| Recognised institutions not run by the municipality | 2% in 2022/23 | 5% |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2025.
No Israeli publication here reconciles the 125,000 with the 90,000
Neither the Knesset Research and Information Centre paper nor the State Comptroller audit states a reconciliation between its own total and the other’s, and neither publishes a combined series across the two. The Knesset Research and Information Centre also records the Jerusalem municipality’s own stated shortage of approximately 2,000 classrooms, alongside a five-year plan submitted by the municipality for 2024 to 2029 under which 1,124 classrooms are to be built. The 1,124 is a planned figure set by the municipality, not a count of classrooms built.
Which figures here may not be subtracted?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre total of approximately 125,000 and the State Comptroller total of about 90,000 are not two readings of one series and may not be subtracted from one another or presented as a change over time. The Knesset figure covers kindergartens, public schools and unrecognised private schools; the State Comptroller pupil count is reported with a different institutional split and carries no period in the audit. The 22,284 and the about 42,500 count different objects on different bases and different years, so no rise or fall may be derived from the pair. The component counts in the Knesset paper are approximate and do not sum exactly to its own stated total.
Questions readers ask
How many students are in East Jerusalem’s Arab education system?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records approximately 125,000 students across all institution types in its 2025 paper.
Why do the two Israeli totals differ?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counts kindergartens, public schools and unrecognised private schools within its total, while the State Comptroller of Israel records about 90,000 pupils on a different institutional split and does not state the period.
How many East Jerusalem students study under the Israeli curriculum?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counts 22,284 students under the Israeli curriculum in 2024/25.
What is the 26% a share of?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states it as a share of students in official and recognised schools, a base of roughly 85,000 that excludes unrecognised private schools.
What is the 47% a share of?
The State Comptroller of Israel reports about 42,500 pupils, about 47% of all East Jerusalem pupils, in schools that adopted the Israeli curriculum.
Do the 22,284 and the 42,500 show a fall?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre counts students studying under the curriculum in 2024/25, and the State Comptroller counts pupils in schools that adopted it, on an unstated period.
What is a recognised but unofficial school?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counts about 45,000 students in recognised but unofficial schools in 2023/24, alongside about 40,000 in official schools, which are held by the state or the municipality.
How many students attend unrecognised private schools?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records 15,400 students in unrecognised private schools, on the most recent data the paper received.
What share follows the Palestinian Authority curriculum?
The State Comptroller of Israel records that about 92% of pupils in the recognised system in East Jerusalem study under the Palestinian Authority curriculum.
What did the multi-year programme set as targets?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records a government target to raise the share on the Israeli curriculum in official and municipality-run recognised schools from 24% in 2022/23, and in recognised institutions not run by the municipality from 2% to 5%.
How many classrooms does the municipality say are missing?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports the Jerusalem municipality’s own figure of approximately 2,000 classrooms short, with 1,124 classrooms planned for construction between 2024 and 2029.
Do these publications cover employment in East Jerusalem?
The State Comptroller of Israel reports employment and income figures for East Jerusalem in the same audit, separately from its education figures.
Sources
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2025. Arab Education in East Jerusalem, Selected Aspects. knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Social Services for the Arab Population of East Jerusalem. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2018. Cleanliness and Sanitation in the Arab Neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
