Israel’s Christian Population Soars as Persecution Builds Elsewhere in Middle East

Israel’s Christian population is continuing to soar ever higher as persecution builds elsewhere in the Middle East, year-end figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reveal.

According to the CBS, around 187,900 Christians live in Israel, composing 1.9 percent of the population. This represents 1.3 percent growth from the year before with followers enjoying complete religious freedom in Israel that is denied elsewhere in neighbouring countries.

The Christian population has been on the rise for at least the last two years. In 2021, the population grew by 1.4 percent to 182,000, and in 2022, there was about two percent growth to 185,000, according to the CBS.

Three-quarters (75.3 percent) are Arab Christians who make up 6.9 percent of the total Arab population, the Jerusalem Post reports.

This contrasts with most countries in the Middle East, where Christian populations are declining, and there is “horrifying growth” of persecution designed to drive out followers of Christ.

This is according to the organization Open Doors, which puts out an annual “World Watch List” of where Christians suffer very high or extreme levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.

Among the top 50 countries in which Christians were persecuted in 2023 were Yemen, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern and Muslim-majority countries.

Israel was not on the list.

Iran’s regime in particular has waged a campaign to persecute evangelical Christians and Catholics.

Overall the Jewish state has a population of approximately 9.795 million people, the CBS report said. Some 7.181 million (73 percent) identify as Jewish, 2.065 million (21 percent) as Arab and 549,000 (five percent) as neither.

The country’s population will reach 10 million by late 2024 and 16 million by 2048, the CBS said. By 2065, Israel’s population is expected to have doubled.

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