The Jewish population in Israel numbers about 5,978,600 – just 21,400 short of the symbolic six million mark, which it is expected to pass by the end of 2012.

According to census stats released for the Jewish New Year, the total population of Israel, not including illegal immigrants, stands at about 7,933,200 people. Of these, 1,636,600 are Arabs and 318,000 are listed under the category of “others.” Jews make up 75.3% of the total population in Israel, not including illegal aliens.

The Jewish population has grown by about 70,000 since the end of 2011, when it stood at about 5,907,000.

The Jewish population’s rate of growth in 2011 was 1.8%, similar to the rate in the last eight years. The rate was similar in the 80s, but higher in the 90s, because of the large scale immigration from the former Soviet Union.

The growth rate of the Arab population was 2.4% in 2011, down from 3.4% in the years 1996-2000.

Four percent of Israel’s population live in Judea and Samaria – up from 3% in 2000.

About half of Israel’s Jews live in central Israel and Tel Aviv. About 40% of the Arabs live in northern Israel.

According to information released recently by Hebrew University demographics expert Professor Sergio Della Pergola, there are 13.75 million Jews in the world today, an increase of 88,300 from last Rosh Hashanah.

The Jews in Israel make up 43% of the total Jewish world population, while 39% of all Jews worldwide live in the United States (5.46 million), and 9.5% (1.43 million) reside in Europe.