Population in the largest city in Israel
Israel: Population in the largest city was 49.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
49.3%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
21st
of 153 countries
All-time high
49.7%
in 2021
All-time low
39.3%
in 1980
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Population in the largest city in Israel, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
In 2025, population in the largest city in Israel stood at 49.3%.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in the largest city in Israel peaked at 49.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 39.3%, in 1980.
Israel ranks 21st of 153 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in the largest city in Israel, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 45.4% | — |
| 1961 | 45.7% | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 44.4% | -2.8% |
| 1963 | 43.7% | -1.6% |
| 1964 | 42.9% | -1.8% |
| 1965 | 42.4% | -1.3% |
| 1966 | 42.3% | -0.3% |
| 1967 | 41.4% | -2.0% |
| 1968 | 41.5% | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 41.4% | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 41.0% | -0.9% |
| 1971 | 40.8% | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 40.7% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 39.9% | -1.9% |
| 1974 | 39.6% | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 39.5% | -0.2% |
| 1976 | 39.5% | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 39.5% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 39.5% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 39.4% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 39.3% | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 39.5% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 39.7% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 39.9% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 40.4% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 40.7% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 41.1% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 41.5% | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 41.9% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 42.2% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 42.0% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 40.6% | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 41.2% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 43.2% | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 45.4% | +4.9% |
| 1995 | 47.6% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 48.6% | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 48.4% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 48.2% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 48.0% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 47.7% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 47.6% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 47.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 47.6% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 47.6% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 47.6% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 47.6% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 47.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 47.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 47.3% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 47.3% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 47.3% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 47.3% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 47.5% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 47.8% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 48.2% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 48.5% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 48.9% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 49.3% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 49.4% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 49.5% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 49.7% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 49.7% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 49.1% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 49.1% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 49.3% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 43.1% | 41.4% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 40.0% | 39.4% | 41.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.6% | 39.3% | 42.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.3% | 40.6% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.6% | 47.3% | 47.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.2% | 47.3% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.4% | 49.1% | 49.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Israel
More urban development data for Israel
- Population density 455.13 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 21.9 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.5699 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 5.77 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 1.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 258.56 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 4.57 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 0.55 Tonnes (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 80.44 Hectares (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in the largest city in Israel?
- Population in the largest city in Israel was 49.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in the largest city recorded in Israel?
- The highest recorded value was 49.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest population in the largest city recorded in Israel?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.3% in 1980.
- How does Israel rank for population in the largest city?
- Israel ranks 21st out of 153 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in the largest city rising or falling in Israel?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Israel data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in the largest city (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.