Israel

The Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's old city.

Founded in 1948 as a restored homeland for the Jewish people and a refuge from persecution, Israel is organized under a constitution that guarantees freedom of religion. Yet Israeli politics and culture are also designed to ensure the country’s status as a Jewish state. For Catholics, the land is tied to the central events of Christian revelation, including the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which makes Israel an especially compelling and complicated place to live.

The Catholic population today includes Palestinian, Hebrew-speaking, and migrant worker and refugee communities. Read more...

National Demographics

Religious Affiliation

Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010

Total Population

8,452,841 1

Urban

92.4% 1

Rural

7.6% 1

Immigrants as % of Population

22.6% 2

Homicides

1.94 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3

Level of Public Corruption

62 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4

Fertility Rate

3.00 live births per woman 5

Under-Five Mortality Rate

3.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5

Life Expectancy at Birth

82 years 5

Internet Users

90% 6

GDP per Capita

US$43,589 5

Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day

0.2% 7

Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics

83 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8

Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)

5.7 - High

Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)

8.2 - Very High

1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition (New York: United Nations, 2018).
2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020 (New York: United Nations, 2020).
3 Data as of 2021. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Intentional Homicide," United Nations, Accessed April 9, 2024; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2023 (Vienna: United Nations, 2023).
4 "2023 Corruption Perceptions Index," Transparency International, Accessed April 9, 2024.
5 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2023 (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, 2023).
6 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
7 Poverty and Inequality Platform, "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
8 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2023).
9 As Pew describes it, "Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate and limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out certain religious groups or ban certain practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the laws are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
10 As Pew describes it, "Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target religious groups; they also include actions by groups or individuals who use religion to restrict others. The SHI captures events such as religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism/militant activity, and hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the hostilities are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).

Catholic Demographics

These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

Baptized Catholics

316,000

Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population

3.43

Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)

915

Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)

First Communions per Year

1,234

Confirmations per Year

883

Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools