How Many Moslems Live in Israel?
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics counted 1.707 million Moslems at the end of 2021, 18.1% of all residents, with growth, fertility and Jerusalem figures.
1.707 million Moslems lived in Israel at the end of 2021, 18.1% of all residents, a figure the Central Bureau of Statistics published in its Eid al-Adha media release of 6 July 2022 and marked as preliminary population data. The Bureau writes the group as Moslems, and that is how it is kept here. The 18.1% is a share of Israel’s resident population at the end of 2021, not of any later total. Later releases from the Bureau add fertility, age structure and higher-education figures for the same group, each carrying its own year.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1.707 million | Moslem residents of Israel, preliminary population data | End of 2021 |
| 18.1% | Moslems as a share of all residents of Israel | End of 2021 |
| 2.1% | Annual growth rate of the Moslem population | 2021 |
| 362,000 | Moslem residents of the city of Jerusalem, 37.5% of the city’s residents | End of 2021 |
| 39,703 | Infants born to Moslem women, 21.5% of all infants born that year | 2021 |
| 32.3% | Share of the Moslem population aged 0 to 14 | End of 2022 |
| 71.0% | Women as a share of Moslem students in higher education | 2024/25 academic year |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, the Eid al-Adha 2022 release for the 2021 figures, the Nabi Shu’ayb 2024 release for the age structure, and the Christmas 2025 release for the higher-education share. Each row is the Bureau’s own compiled count on its own definitions.
The Bureau’s Eid al-Adha release counts Israel’s Moslem population
The Eid al-Adha media release is where the Central Bureau of Statistics compiles its Moslem-population series in one place, and it covers 2021 with some series reported for 2020 or the 2020/21 school year. The Bureau states that its population data in that release are preliminary. Alongside the population total, it published these counts for the same group:
- 39.3% labour force participation among Moslems aged 15 and over (2021).
- 75.8 years life expectancy for men and 80.7 years for women (2021).
- 395,348 Moslem students in primary and secondary education, in the system supervised by the Ministry of Education (2020/21 school year).
- 747,492 Moslems licenced to drive, 15.7% of all drivers (2021).
- 277,000 Moslems registered at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, an approximate figure drawn by the Bureau from that ministry’s registration files (2021).
The Bureau reports Moslem growth and fertility separately from other groups
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 2.1% annual growth in the Moslem population in 2021, and counted 39,703 infants born to Moslem women that year, 21.5% of all infants born in Israel. On the Bureau’s total fertility rate series by population group, published in Israel in Figures 2024, the Jewish and Moslem rates have converged to within about a tenth of a child, while the Christian and Druze rates are below replacement. A total fertility rate is a period rate for the year stated, not a completed family size.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1% | Annual growth of the Moslem population | 2021 |
| 39,703 | Infants born to Moslem women | 2021 |
| 4.35 persons | Average size of a household headed by a Moslem | End of 2024 |
| 3.02 persons | Average size of a household headed by a Jew | End of 2024 |
| 2.89 persons | Average size of a household headed by a Christian | End of 2024 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, the Eid al-Adha 2022 release for 2021 and the Christmas 2025 release for the household sizes. The fertility series covers Israel’s resident population only.
The Eid al-Adha release gives Jerusalem’s Moslem count and age structure
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 362,000 Moslem residents of the city of Jerusalem at the end of 2021, 21.2% of all Moslems in Israel and 37.5% of the city’s residents. On age, the Bureau reported in its 2024 Nabi Shu’ayb release that 32.3% of the Moslem population was aged 0 to 14 at the end of 2022, the highest share of the four groups it set side by side there.
- Moslems aged 0 to 14: 32.3% (end of 2022).
- Jews aged 0 to 14: 27.5% (end of 2022).
- Druze aged 0 to 14: 23.8% (end of 2022).
- Arab Christians aged 0 to 14: 20.6% (end of 2022).
Women are 71.0% of Moslem students in higher education
The Central Bureau of Statistics published a share of 71.0% women among Moslem students in higher education for the 2024/25 academic year, the highest of the four population groups it reported in its Christmas 2025 release. That figure is a share of Moslem students, not a count of them, and the Bureau publishes no absolute number of Moslem students in higher education in that release. For schools, the Bureau counted 395,348 Moslem students in primary and secondary education in 2020/21, noting a lack of available data for many educational institutions in East Jerusalem.
The Bureau publishes no breakdown of Moslems by denomination
In the releases used here, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports Moslems as one population group and breaks that group down by locality, age, fertility, education, employment and welfare registration. None of these publications carries a Sunni, Shia or Ahmadiyya breakdown, and none reports Circassians separately within the group. Where the Bureau publishes no such division, the group total stands on its own and no share of it is derived here.
Which figures here belong to different years?
Every figure on this page is the Central Bureau of Statistics’ own compiled count, and the periods differ between releases, so they are not one series. The 1.707 million and the 18.1% are end-2021 and preliminary; the age shares are end-2022; the household sizes are end-2024; the higher-education share is the 2024/25 academic year. The 18.1% belongs to Israel’s resident population at the end of 2021 and may not be applied to the 10.148 million total the Bureau published for September 2025. The Bureau counts East Jerusalem residents and West Bank settlers inside Israel’s total, a scope choice that differs from the international convention. The road-accident and welfare counts come from administrative files processed by the Bureau, and the welfare figure is stated as approximate.
Questions readers ask
What is the most recent Moslem population figure the Bureau publishes?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published 1.707 million Moslem residents for the end of 2021 in its Eid al-Adha media release of 6 July 2022, and marked the population data preliminary.
What share of Israel’s residents are Moslems?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 18.1% of all residents at the end of 2021.
How fast is the Moslem population growing?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 2.1% growth over 2021.
How many Moslems live in Jerusalem?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 362,000 Moslem residents of the city at the end of 2021, 37.5% of the city’s residents.
How many babies are born to Moslem women in Israel each year?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 39,703 infants born to Moslem women in 2021, 21.5% of all infants born in Israel that year.
Does the Bureau publish a Moslem total fertility rate?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes total fertility rate by population group in Israel in Figures 2024, where it states that the Jewish and Moslem rates have converged to within about a tenth of a child.
How large is a Moslem household in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported an average of 4.35 persons in a household headed by a Moslem at the end of 2024, against 3.02 for a Jew and 2.89 for a Christian.
How many Moslem children are in school?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 395,348 Moslem students in primary and secondary education in the 2020/21 school year, in the system supervised by the Ministry of Education.
Who publishes the figure for women among Moslem students in higher education?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published 71.0% for the 2024/25 academic year in its Christmas 2025 release.
Does the Bureau count Moslems by denomination?
The releases used here report Moslems as a single population group, and the Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no Sunni, Shia or Ahmadiyya division in them.
How many Moslems are in the labour force?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 39.3% labour force participation among Moslems aged 15 and over in 2021.
What is life expectancy among Moslems in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 75.8 years for men and 80.7 years for women in 2021.
Which figures should not be added together?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports criminal, traffic, welfare and population figures from different files and different years, so the counts are not additive and the 2021 shares do not apply to later totals.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. The Moslem Population in Israel: Data on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha (The Feast of the Sacrifice). Media release 217/2022. 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. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Total Fertility Rate by Population Group; Israel in Figures 2024. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Christmas 2025, Christians in Israel. Media release 413/2025. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Population of Israel on the Eve of Rosh Hashana 5786. Media release, September 2025. Official or primary record.
