Jerusalem, January 3, 2023
Photo: wp.com
A century ago, Christians made up about 10% of the population of the Holy Land. In particular, they were 86% of the population of Bethlehem and 25% of the population of Jerusalem.
Today, however, the situation is much bleaker, with Christians making up just 2% of the total population of the Holy Land, including 12-30% of the population of Bethlehem and 2% of the population of Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, the Christian population of the Holy Land did see a slight increase in 2022, according to a new report from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
There are now approximately 182,000 Christians in Israel: about 1.9% of the population. Thus, the Christian population grew by 2% in 2021.
75.8% of the Christians in Israel are Arabs, constituting 6.9% of the total Arab population. Most Arab Christians reside in Nazareth (21,100), followed by Haifa (16,700), Jerusalem (12,900), and Shefar’am (10,500).
The fertility rate is about 1.8 children per Christian woman, and the average Christian household size is 3.06 persons. The number stands at 3.05 for Jewish households and 4.46 for Muslim households.
The Christian population of the Holy Land is divided between numerous denominations: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Maronite Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Chaldean, Anglican and Lutheran. There are also Evangelical Protestant churches, though they aren’t officially recognized by public authorities.
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