Population stands at 6.8 million on eve of Rosh Hashanah

Israel's population on the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5765 stands at 6.8 million people - 5.5 million Jews, comprising 81 percent of the total, and 1.3 million Arabs - according to the latest census figures published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The reports said that all except 287,000 among the 5.5 million Jews - specifically new immigrants and their families - are listed in the population registry as Jews.

The population figure represents an increase of 110,000 people, a jump of 1.6 percent, from the previous year. In 5763, the population grew at a 1.8 percent clip.

The CBS report counts 22 thousand new immigrants, half of whom hail from the former Soviet Union, 15 percent of whom (3,400) came from Ethiopia, 9 percent from France, and the rest from various other countries.

The number of new immigrants, the lowest in over 14 years, represents a drop of 5,000 from the previous year.

In the last year, 143,000 babies were born, an increase of 6,000 compared to the previous year. The number of foreign workers currently in the country stands at 189,000.