Every year around Jerusalem Day, the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research publishes the Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook for Jerusalem, based on data collected during the year or two preceding the report’s publication.
This year, the report, published Monday in Yisrael Hayom, was based on data on the capital in 2024-2025.
At the end of 2024, Jerusalem is Israel’s most populous city with a population of over 1,050,200 residents, more than twice that of Tel Aviv, which ranked second with 467,900 residents. Of the capital’s residents, 596,400 are Jews and others (around 10,000 without religious classification and non-Arab Christians), making up 60% of the city’s population. The remaining 40%, numbering 401,400 residents, consisted mostly (97%) of Muslim Arabs, while a minority were Christian Arabs.
Among the Jewish population, 46% are Chareidi, 25% are religious or very religious, 13% are traditional, and 13% are secular. For comparison, among Israel’s overall Jewish population, 16% are Chareidi, 15% are religious or very religious, 22% are traditional, and 44% are secular.
Traditionally, the fertility rate in Jerusalem is higher than the national average, and in 2024 it stood at 3.7. For comparison, the rate in Israel overall in 2024 was 2.9.
Broken down by religion, the fertility rate among Jewish and other women in Jerusalem stood at 4.4 (compared to 2.9 for the same population in Israel overall), while among Arab women in Jerusalem it stood at 2.8 (compared to 2.6 for the same population nationwide).
The report also examined migration to and from Jerusalem, including movement to other cities and countries. As in recent years, Jerusalem’s migration balance remained negative in 2024, though the overall deficit narrowed from minus 9,800 in 2023 to minus 6,500 in 2024.
The balance is made up of several factors, including migration to other cities. Here too, there was a decline, from 11,300 people living in 2023 to 8,000 in 2024. The leading cities from which people move to Jerusalem are Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv, and Bnei Brak. The leading destinations for Jerusalem residents leaving the city are Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv, and Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut.
At the same time, there was an increase in the number of Jerusalem residents emigrating from Israel. After 1,500 emigrants in 2022, around 5,200 emigrants were recorded in both 2023 and 2024.
Construction began on around 6,900 housing units in Jerusalem in 2025 (compared to an average of 6,400 between 2023 and 2025). In 79% of the cases, these were residential buildings taller than eight stories. By the end of 2025, building permits had been issued in the capital for 8,200 housing units.
During the 2024–2025 school year, around 312,700 students studied in Jerusalem: 189,800 students were enrolled in Hebrew-language schools, 36% in the state education system, and 64% in Chareidi schools. About 122,900 students studied in Arab schools, 88% in public schools, and 12% in private schools. In 2025, students in Arab schools comprised 39% of all students in Jerusalem’s educational system.
In the 2024–2025 academic year, 41,600 students studied at higher education institutions in Jerusalem, accounting for 14% of all students in Israel. Slightly more than half of all students in the capital studied at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one-third studied at one of seven academic colleges, and the rest studied at one of four academic colleges of education.
This year, the institute also published a special index called the “Jerusalem Falafel Index,” which examines falafel prices in city neighborhoods relative to housing prices and median income. In practice, the index estimates the standard of living and cost of living in the city’s neighborhoods.
According to the report, the price of a falafel portion in the city center is generally higher than in neighborhoods farther from the center. Prices in eastern Jerusalem are significantly cheaper than in the rest of the city, and there are also major differences between Chareidi neighborhoods and neighborhoods belonging to the general population. For example, a falafel portion in Rehavia costs 30 shekels, while in Meah Shearim it costs 18 shekels.
By cross-referencing median income, median apartment prices, and median rent prices in each neighborhood, the researchers concluded — based on the assumption that the higher the housing prices, the higher the falafel price would also be — and examined, among other things, how many local falafel portions could be purchased based on the median salary in each neighborhood.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
