According to the report, the Christian growth rate of 0.9 percent compares
to the Jewish rate of 1.7 percent and the 2.7 percent growth rate among
Muslims. Christian Arabs have a growth rate of 1 percent while the rate
among non-Arab Christians is 0.7 percent.
About 154,000 Christians live in Israel, constituting 2 percent of the
population, according to the bureau.
The percentage of Christians in Israel has remained relatively stable since
the mid-1980s, noted Wadie Abunassar, director of the International Center
for Consultations and a consultant for the Jerusalem Center for
Christian-Jewish relations.
About 80 percent of Christians living in Israel are Arabs, with the
remainder mainly Christians who immigrated to Israel with Jewish members of
their families under the Law of Return, which allows any proven Jewish
person to immigrate to Israel.
The estimated birth rate for Christian women is also the lowest among the
religious groups. The average number of children expected to be born to a
Christian woman is 2.1, compared to a Muslim woman (3.8), a Jewish woman
(3.0) and a Druze woman (2.5).
But though their relative numbers in Israeli society are low, Christian Arab
students consistently have the highest success rates on matriculation
examinations for certificates that meet the admission requirements for
universities compared to other sectors of Israeli society, including Muslim,
Druze and Jewish students.
According to the report, in the 2010 school year, 63 percent of Christian
12th grade students earned a matriculation certificate compared with 46
percent of Muslims, 55 percent of Druze, and 58 percent of Jewish students.
