What Is the Biggest Israeli Settlement in the West Bank? Modi’in Illit, With 89,627 Residents
Modi’in Illit had 89,627 residents in 2024 on the Central Bureau of Statistics’ count, ahead of Betar Illit at 71,698 and Ma’ale Adummim at 35,845.
Modi’in Illit, with 89,627 residents in 2024, is the largest Israeli locality in the West Bank on the population count the Central Bureau of Statistics published in its 2024 localities file. Betar Illit is second with 71,698 and Ma’ale Adummim third with 35,845. The ranking covers the Bureau’s Judea and Samaria Area, which holds Israeli localities only. East Jerusalem neighbourhoods sit in the Jerusalem District and are outside it.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 89,627 | Residents of Modi’in Illit, a municipality, including 409 foreigners | 2024 |
| 71,698 | Residents of Betar Illit, a municipality, second in the Area | 2024 |
| 35,845 | Residents of Ma’ale Adummim, a municipality, third in the Area | 2024 |
| 22,190 | Residents of Ari’el, a municipality, fifth in the Area | 2024 |
| 514,496 | Residents of all Judea and Samaria Area localities, a sum of the file’s rows rather than a printed total | 2024 |
| 40.9 per 1,000 | Natural increase in Modi’in Illit, births minus deaths per 1,000 residents | 2020 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Localities in Israel 2024 (localities file), and Local Authorities in Israel 2020 for the natural increase row.
Modi’in Illit had 89,627 residents in 2024, the Bureau counts
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 89,627 residents in Modi’in Illit in 2024, the highest total of any locality it files under the Judea and Samaria Area. The Bureau’s own term is a locality in that district, not a settlement. The ranking is by total population including foreigners, and on Israelis alone the order is unchanged.
- Hebrew name: מודיעין עילית
- Municipal status: municipality
- Israelis: 89,218
- Foreigners: 409
- Total residents: 89,627, in 2024
- District: Judea and Samaria Area, which the Bureau defines as Israeli localities only
Betar Illit counts 71,698 residents and Ma’ale Adummim 35,845
The Central Bureau of Statistics records Betar Illit, also written Beitar Illit, as the second-largest locality in the Area in 2024. Ma’ale Adummim, often written Ma’ale Adumim, is third. Ari’el, written Ariel in most English usage, is fifth, behind the local council of Giv’at Ze’ev.
| Rank | Locality | Municipal status | Residents, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modi’in Illit | Municipality | 89,627 |
| 2 | Betar Illit | Municipality | 71,698 |
| 3 | Ma’ale Adummim | Municipality | 35,845 |
| 4 | Giv’at Ze’ev | Local council | 25,105 |
| 5 | Ari’el | Municipality | 22,190 |
| 6 | Efrat | Local council | 12,115 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Localities in Israel 2024, total population including foreigners. Locality names follow the Bureau’s English spelling.
Modi’in Illit is 89,627 of the Area’s 514,496 residents
Modi’in Illit holds about 17.4% of the 514,496 people living in the Area’s localities in 2024, as the Central Bureau of Statistics counts them locality by locality. The 514,496 is the sum of the district’s rows in the 2024 file, not a total the Bureau prints. The shares below are that arithmetic, not published percentages.
- 514,496 residents across all Israeli localities in the Area, 509,990 of them Israelis
- 89,627 in Modi’in Illit, about 17.4% of the 514,496
- 161,325 in Modi’in Illit and Betar Illit together, about 31.4%
- 256,580 in the six largest localities, about 49.9%
The Bureau’s published total for the Area comes from a different release with a different date, and the note below says why the two are kept apart.
The Bureau classifies Modi’in Illit as a Haredi municipality
The Central Bureau of Statistics classified Modi’in Illit, a municipality in the Judea and Samaria District, as of Haredi character in its Local Authorities in Israel 2020 volume. The same volume places Immanuel, a local council, in the same district and records its character as Haredi. Its natural increase table ranks both among the four highest Jewish local authorities nationwide.
| Local authority | Natural increase per 1,000 residents, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Modi’in Illit | 40.9 |
| Betar Illit | 40.4 |
| Immanuel | 39.8 |
| Kiryat Ye’arim | 39.0 |
| National rate | 13.9 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Local Authorities in Israel 2020, Table D.
The Bureau prints its own explanation above the table: high rates of natural increase are found mainly in Jewish local authorities of Haredi character and in Muslim local authorities. Natural increase is live births minus deaths per 1,000 residents. It excludes migration, so it is not a population growth rate.
No Bureau table here ranks the Area’s localities by land area
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no jurisdiction area or built-up area for Modi’in Illit, Betar Illit, Ma’ale Adummim or Ari’el in its 2024 localities file or its 2020 local authorities volume. The 2024 file ranks localities by residents. For each locality it carries:
- District
- Municipal status
- Religion code
- Founding year
- 2024 population, split into total, Israelis, Jews and others, Arabs and foreigners
On that record, the largest locality is the largest by population.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The 514,496 from the 2024 localities file and the 504,700 in the Statistical Abstract of Israel 2024 may not be combined or set against each other. The Central Bureau of Statistics published the 504,700 as a preliminary total for Israeli localities in the Area at 31 December 2023. The 514,496 is a sum of 2024 rows from another release. Both include foreigners, and neither includes East Jerusalem, which the Bureau places in the Jerusalem District. The natural increase rates are per 1,000 residents, not percentages, and are not growth rates.
Questions readers ask
How many people live in Modi’in Illit?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 89,627 residents in Modi’in Illit in 2024. Of those, 89,218 are Israelis and 409 are foreigners.
What is the second-largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank?
Betar Illit, with 71,698 residents in 2024. The Central Bureau of Statistics records it as a municipality, second in the Judea and Samaria Area.
How many people live in Ma’ale Adumim?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 35,845 residents in Ma’ale Adummim in 2024, third in the Area. It is a municipality.
How many people live in Ariel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 22,190 residents in Ari’el in 2024. That places it fifth, after Giv’at Ze’ev at 25,105.
How many people live in Giv’at Ze’ev?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 25,105 residents in 2024. Giv’at Ze’ev is a local council and fourth in the Area.
How many people live in Efrat?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 12,115 residents in Efrat in 2024. Efrat is a local council and sixth in the Area.
Is East Jerusalem included in this ranking?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics places East Jerusalem neighbourhoods in the Jerusalem District, outside the Judea and Samaria Area it ranks.
Is Modi’in Illit a city?
The Central Bureau of Statistics records Modi’in Illit as a municipality, the status it also gives Betar Illit, Ma’ale Adummim and Ari’el.
Is Modi’in Illit an ultra-Orthodox town?
The Central Bureau of Statistics records its character as Haredi, in Local Authorities in Israel 2020. The same volume places it in the Judea and Samaria District.
Which Jewish local authority had the highest natural increase in 2020?
Modi’in Illit, at 40.9 per 1,000 residents, ahead of Betar Illit at 40.4. The Central Bureau of Statistics reported a national rate of 13.9 per 1,000 that year.
How fast is Modi’in Illit growing?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published a natural increase rate of 40.9 per 1,000 for 2020. That is births minus deaths and excludes migration, so it is not a population growth rate.
How many Israelis live in the West Bank in total?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published a preliminary 504,700 for Israeli localities in the Area at 31 December 2023. Its 2024 localities file rows sum to 514,496.
What share of the Area’s residents live in the two largest localities?
Modi’in Illit and Betar Illit together hold 161,325 of the 514,496 residents the Central Bureau of Statistics counts in the Area’s 2024 rows, about 31.4%.
Which West Bank settlement is largest by land area?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no jurisdiction or built-up area for these localities in the releases cited here. Its 2024 file ranks by residents.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. Local Authorities in Israel 2020: Introduction, Comparative Tables (הרשויות המקומיות בישראל 2020 - מבוא, לוחות השוואה). Publication 1879, Table D, rate of natural increase per 1,000 residents, 2020. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2022/local_authorities20_1879/h_print.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Statistical Abstract of Israel 2024, Table 2.16: Localities and Population, by District, Sub-District and Population Group. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2024/2.shnatonpopulation/st02_16x.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Localities in Israel 2024 (קובץ יישובים), localities file by locality code. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2019/ishuvim/bycode2024.xlsx. Official or primary record.
