Israel's population has surpassed 8.9 million on the eve of Jewish New Year 5779, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. In addition, there are an estimated 166,000 foreign non-residents living in Israel, Globes reports.
The population has grown by 1.9% or 162,000 over the past year to 8,907,000. Over the year, 175,000 babies were born, 29,000 people immigrated to Israel and 43,000 people died.
The Central Bureau of Statistics projects that Israel's population will reach 10 million by 2024, 15 million by 2048 and 20 million by 2065.
6,625,000 Israelis are Jewish (74.4%), 1,864,000 are Arabs (20.9%), while 418,000 (4.7%) belong other religions and communities.