What Does Israel Spend on Health and Education?
Israel’s national expenditure on health was NIS 132.6 billion in 2022, 7.6% of GDP, and on education NIS 132.0 billion, 7.5% of GDP.
Israel’s national expenditure on health was NIS 132.6 billion in 2022, or 7.6% of gross domestic product, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ figures. National expenditure on education came to NIS 132.0 billion in the same year, 7.5% of GDP. Both are national aggregates covering public and private spending together, and the Bureau publishes them side by side in its annual selected-data booklet.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| NIS 132.6 billion | National expenditure on health, 7.6% of GDP | 2022 |
| NIS 132.0 billion | National expenditure on education, 7.5% of GDP | 2022 |
| 1.910 million | Students in the education system | School year 2021/22 |
| 795,900 | Students in secondary education | School year 2021/22 |
| 80.7 years and 84.8 years | Life expectancy at birth, men and women | 2022 |
| 9,662,000 | Population of Israel at end of year, the base the shares above sit against | End of 2022 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel in Figures 2023, drawn from the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2023.
Health and education each took about 7.5% of GDP in 2022
The two aggregates are close but they are not one number. The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded NIS 132.6 billion on health, 7.6% of GDP, and NIS 132.0 billion on education, 7.5% of GDP, both for calendar 2022. They are separate national-expenditure series covering different sectors, and the Bureau publishes no combined figure for the two, so a reader wanting the pair should carry them as a pair rather than adding them.
Both are national expenditure, which is a wider measure than government spending. It counts what households, businesses and non-profit institutions spend alongside what the state spends, so neither figure is a budget line.
1.910 million students were in the education system in 2021/22
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 1.910 million students in the education system in the 2021/22 school year, of whom 795,900 were in secondary education. Those two counts run on a school year that starts in the autumn, so they are not calendar-2022 figures like the expenditure and life expectancy above, and the Bureau reports them under their own heading for that reason.
Life expectancy was 80.7 years for men and 84.8 for women
The Central Bureau of Statistics published both for 2022 in the same booklet, alongside the health expenditure figure. Life expectancy at birth is a projection from the mortality rates observed in the year, not a measurement of how long anyone born in 2022 has lived.
The population base for 2022 was 9,662,000
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded Israel’s population at 9,662,000 at the end of 2022, growing 2.2% over the year against 1.8% in 2021. It counted 181,193 live newborns in 2022, a total fertility rate of 2.89 children per woman, and 2,857,300 private households at an average of 3.19 persons each.
That population figure is the base the GDP shares and the expenditure figures sit against, and it belongs to the same release and the same year, which is why it is stated here rather than a more recent total from a later release.
The Bureau’s group student counts sit on different school years
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes student counts by population group in separate annual releases on separate cycles, so the counts below are each accurate for their own year and do not form a single-year breakdown. Adding them produces a number the Bureau has not published for any year.
| Group | Students in primary and secondary education | School year |
|---|---|---|
| Moslems | 395,348 | 2020/21 |
| Christians | 26,240 | 2024/25 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, The Moslem Population in Israel, media release 217/2022; and Christmas 2025, media release 413/2025.
The Druze release reports higher education and teaching staff rather than a primary and secondary count: the Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 5,859 Druze students across all institutions of higher education in the 2022/23 academic year and 3,741 Druze teaching staff in the education system in 2023/24.
Where these figures come from
The expenditure, population, health and education figures come from the Central Bureau of Statistics’ Israel in Figures 2023, a selected-data booklet drawn from the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2023. The health and education expenditure figures are the Bureau’s compilation of Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education administrative data, published as the Bureau’s own official statistics.
Periods are mixed inside the release and each figure carries its own. The expenditure, population, fertility, household and life expectancy figures are for calendar 2022; the two student counts are for the 2021/22 school year. The group student counts in the section above come from different releases on different school years and are not one breakdown.
Questions
How much does Israel spend on health?
NIS 132.6 billion in 2022, 7.6% of GDP, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ figures for national expenditure.
How much does Israel spend on education?
NIS 132.0 billion in 2022, 7.5% of GDP, on the same national-expenditure basis.
Can the two be added into one figure?
The Bureau publishes no combined total. They are separate national-expenditure series covering different sectors, so carry them as a pair.
Is national expenditure the same as the government budget?
No. National expenditure counts what households, businesses and non-profit institutions spend alongside what the state spends, so neither figure is a budget line.
How many students are in Israel’s education system?
1.910 million in the 2021/22 school year, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ count.
How many are in secondary education?
795,900 in the 2021/22 school year.
What is life expectancy in Israel?
80.7 years for men and 84.8 years for women in 2022, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ figures.
What was Israel’s population when these figures were published?
9,662,000 at the end of 2022, growing 2.2% over the year against 1.8% in 2021.
What was the fertility rate that year?
2.89 children per woman in 2022, on 181,193 live newborns.
How many households are there?
2,857,300 private households at the end of 2022, at an average of 3.19 persons each.
Why is the population figure from 2022 rather than today?
Because the GDP shares and the expenditure totals are 2022 figures from the same release, and a later population total would not be the base they were calculated against.
How many Moslem students are in Israeli schools?
395,348 in primary and secondary education in the 2020/21 school year, on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ count for that year.
How many Christian students?
26,240 in primary and secondary education in the 2024/25 school year.
Can the group counts be added together?
No. They come from separate releases on separate school years, so the sum is a figure the Bureau has not published for any year.
Does the Bureau publish a Druze school count in the same form?
The Druze release reports 5,859 students across all higher education institutions in 2022/23 and 3,741 teaching staff in 2023/24 rather than a primary and secondary count.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Israel in Figures 2023: Selected Data From the Statistical Abstract of Israel.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. The Moslem Population in Israel: Data on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha. Media release 217/2022.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Christmas 2025 - Christians in Israel. Media release 413/2025.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. The Druze Population of Israel on the Occasion of the Nabi Shu’ayb Festival 2024. Media release 124/2024.
