(ZENIT News – TerraSanta Net / Jerusalem, 12.29.2025).- Punctual as Christmas, this year too, figures on Israeli citizens of the Christian faith have arrived from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (hence, the calculations do not include Christians from the Palestinian Territories, or temporary workers present in the Jewish State but without citizenship, or the numerous foreign men and women religious present in the Holy Land for reasons of study or mission).
Statistical experts estimate that, by December 2025, Christian citizens will number approximately 184,200, representing 1.9% of the population, an 0.7% increase over the previous year.
A clearer picture emerges when considering data compiled and verified as of December 31, 2024, which indicates that Arab-Palestinian Christians comprise 78.7% of the total baptized population. Within the predominantly Muslim Palestinian minority holding Israeli passports, Christians make up 6.8%.
The majority of Christians (68.8%) reside in the north of the country, specifically in Galilee. Many (14.7%) gravitate toward the pluralistic port city of Haifa. If we consider the fifth of Christians who are not Arab, four out of ten live in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
According to statistics, there are four cities with a higher concentration of Christians: Nazareth (18,900), Haifa (18,800), Jerusalem (13,400); in relation to these data, it must be remembered that, according to the laws of Israel, the entire city is the capital of the State, but its Palestinian inhabitants do not have Israeli citizenship; international law, on the other hand, continues to consider the Old City and the eastern neighbourhoods as occupied territories); Nof HaGalil (10,800).
This urban center was established in 1957 as a Jewish satellite city of Nazareth (the current name was adopted in 2019; it was previously called Nazareth Illit). Given its unique housing and urban planning characteristics, and the order and services it offers, it has become a coveted place of residence for non-Jewish citizens as well. Many Christians have decided to move there, as Bishop Rafic Nahra, Vicar for Israel of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, explained a few days ago to the commissioners of the Holy Land from around the world, also seeking security and escaping the power of organized crime that poisons the atmosphere within the Arab minority in Israel.
Throughout 2024, Christian women gave birth to 2,134 children. The fertility rate is 1.61 children per woman (1.48 if we consider only Arab-Palestinian Christians).
On average, a Christian family is smaller than other families in Israel, with 2.89 members, compared to 3.02 for Jewish families and 4.35 for Muslim families.
In various schools, both private and public, 26,240 Christian students were enrolled in the 2024/25 school year (1.3% of the total number of students). This figure includes students from primary school through high school. Female students represented 61.1% of the total Christian student body, a higher proportion than that recorded among Jewish students (58.3%), but lower than that recorded among Muslim students (71%) and Druze students (63.3%).
67.7% of Christian citizens over the age of 15 are employed. Among those who received social services assistance in 2024, 4,200 were Christian, while 27,000 had some type of disability.
Translation of the Italian original by ZENIT’s Editorial Director
